Future Lover
by Irvine Cypher
Summary: What if Seto knew what Yami's true name was from the start? Will he tell Yami? If he did, will all those memories come rushing back to the unnamed pharaoh? What if...Seto had been waiting for Yami to come for the past nine years?
1. Chapter 1

Lover from the Future

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Chapter one: Remembrance

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"_Who are you?" the blue eyed brunette asked the boy who had lightning blonde bangs and crimson tipped hair. The boy had apparently appeared out of nowhere, and entered his room while he was reading a book as he was seated on his bed. He thought the boy was roughly his age, around seven or eight. In his age, he should understand him. _

"_Hm?" the boy put down the yellow rubber duck back on top of the green folded towel that rested on the bed on the other side of the room and looked at him._

"_Who are you?" the brunette repeated, his voice did not have any hint of irritation, for he thought the boy did not understand English. The boy was wearing what appeared to be a tunic, and he could not believe that the boy was actually wearing gold wristbands on both his wrists, and also what appeared to be a gold choker and gold stud earrings. Aside from the abnormal form of his hair, he also had the weirdest eyes. But even though he thought those eyes were weird, he also thought that they were the most beautiful he had ever seen. His orbs were a lovely shade of combined crimson and purple. _

"_Oh, that's easy. My name's Atemu. What's yours?" he said, and approached him. _

"_S-seto." _

"_Seto?" the boy though for a second. "Your name sounds like the name of my older cousin. But yours sounds weirder." _

_Seto took that offensively. "How did my name sound so weird?" he demanded. _

_Atemu climbed on the bed and sat beside Seto, taking a glimpse of what Seto was reading. "Well, my cousin's name is Seth, yours is Seto. See?" _

_Seto thought for a second. Seth sounded weirder than Seto, but he let it pass. It was useless arguing over some name. "Why are you here? Where did you come from?"_

"_To tell you the truth I don't know why I'm here. The last thing I remember was I was with my Grandfather and Father, who were in a duel. I think a spell went wrong. Oh, and I'm from Egypt." He explained, looking around him. "Your room is small." _

_Spells? Egypt? "Of course it's small. It's only my brother and I who sleep here. If we were five or ten, then we will be able to sleep in the big rooms." _

"_Where are we anyways?" Atemu asked, lying down on Seto's bed and staring at the ceiling. _

"_We're in orphanage." Seto answered, putting away the book he was reading under his pillow. _

_Atemu sat up in surprise. "You're an orphan?!" he exclaimed. "Where are your parents? Do you they not want you? Have they neglected-"_

_Seto was shocked that Atemu spoke as if he were an adult. It was as if he was a genius like the adults who had tried to adopt him said. "My parents are dead. My mother died when she gave birth to my brother, and my father fell into depression after that, leading to him into an alcoholic state that caused his death." _

"_Wine caused your father's death?" Atemu asked, "How can wine kill a person-"_

"_He was driving home drunk from the car,"_

"_Driving?" _

"_Yeah. Driving a car?" _

"_What's a car? Is it some kind of carriage?" _

_Seto couldn't believe that the boy he was talking to didn't know anything about cars. It also occurred to him that maybe this boy didn't know anything about cars at all. So again, he didn't force the topic on him. "Yes," _

"_I'm sorry that your parents are dead," _

"_It's ok," said Seto. "My father didn't care about us anymore when our Mom died. All he did was swear at me and drink." _

_Atemu tried to think of something to take subject away from Seto's parents. He couldn't think of anything else other than games, games which he and his cousin whom he had mentioned earlier played when they managed to escaped from their teacher. "Don't you have anything else to do other than read? It's boring. Do you have any games we can play?" _

_Seto hopped off the bed. "We can play chess." He took out an old battered wooden chessboard from under his bed. _

"_Great!" Atemu hopped off the bed as well and sat on the floor together with Seto who had already gotten a hold of the white chess pieces. "I get to be black?" _

"_Yes." _

"_No fair! I wanna be white!" _

"_It's my chessboard, so I get to be white." _

"_Fine." _

"_I'm going to win anyways." _

"_And what makes you so sure about that?" Atemu raised a brow. _

"_I've beaten adults in chess that are four to five time older than me," said Seto, putting his King in place, and waiting for Atemu to finish putting his pieces in place. "I think I can beat you fairly easy," _

_Atemu smirked. "Let's see about that." _

_Pawns were moved, bishops were eaten, knights forming Ls as they ate rooks and pawns, Kings moving one space in each direction, and Queens were hopping across the board, attacking the pieces on defense, as she protected the king. Atemu won, and Seto lost. "You have got to be kidding me!" said Seto. _

"_I told you that I would beat you." _

_Seto sighed, "I've never been beaten before." He said putting the pieces back in the board. _

"_Well, now you have, and maybe you can devise a strategy that can beat what I have done," Atemu smiled at him, and Seto blushed. _

_There was something about this boy that was different. Most boys like himself did not want to play chess just because he was bored. Most boys would ask if his playmate had toy cars, or airplanes, or small soldiers. And besides, boys don't smile at other boys the way he did. That smile was the sweetest smile he had ever seen. Even sweeter than the smiles the girls in the orphanage give him when they flirt with him. _

"_So, what do we do next?" Atemu stood up and toured the room. Seto thought for a second. All he did in his free time was sketch, read, play chess with the people in the orphanage who took care of the children, and tell stories to his little brother, who was now in the yard, playing with the other boys his age. "You drew this?" he said, picking up the sheets of drawing paper sketched with still life, and a little boy who had long black hair playing with toys, in the sandbox, sleeping, everything, not believing that Seto could draw something so real. _

"_Yes. That's my little brother. His name is Mokuba," Seto pointed at the drawing of his brother playing in the sandbox. _

"_How old is he?" he asked, flipping through the sheets. _

"_He's three," Seto took a pencil and blank sheet of drawing paper. He started to draw, glancing occasionally at Atemu who had taken a liking to the book that was on Mokuba's bed. _

_While Atemu was busy being fascinated with the pictures of different kinds of animals printed in the book. "This is amazing. How did you put so many colors on pa-" a white sheet of black shaded paper came in between him and the animal book he was scanning. "That's…that's…" _

"_You." Seto finished, giving him a rough sketch of him reading Mokuba's book. "Would you mind if I drew you again? You can have that one if you want," _

"_I can have it?" _

"_Of course." _

"_And you want to draw me again?" _

"_Yes." _

"_Why?" _

"_Your hair, it's nice to draw. It's more erratic than my brother's hair, so I like a challenge," _

_Atemu was silent for a moment. "Ok, you can draw me again. But first, I want to give you this," Atemu took off the gold dragon pendant he wore and put it around Seto's neck. "I hope you like it," the dragon was formed like it was curled up, like flying up in a circle. _

_Seto held the pendant in his hand, staring at the glowing metal. "It's so pretty," _

"_Do you promise me that you'll keep it?" he asked. _

"_Of course." _

"_Good! You can draw me now." Seto smiled in delight, and grabbed another sheet of drawing paper, and started sketching. In a few minutes, he was done, and put the date on the lower right corner of his drawing with his kanji signature. _Seto 07.09.2000_. _

"_Your Highness!" a man in robes and gold jewelry entered the room, startling both boys. His robes were of the same color of Atemu's tunic. _

"_Mahaado?" _

_The man named Mahaado approached Atemu. "Are you alright, Your Highness? Does anything hurt?" and he noticed Seto standing by the bed, pencil and sketch in hand. "Who are you? Why are you with His Highness?" _

"_It's alright, Mahaado, this is my friend, Seto. He kept me company. And I beat him in chess!" he said, then turned to Seto. "I guess it's time for me to go," _

"_Wait, if he called you 'Your Highness,' then you're a prince?!" _

"_Yes."_

"_Awesome." _

"_Yeah, I know." Atemu smiled. "Thanks for everything, Seto, especially my portrait. I'll never forget you," he gave Seto a peck on his cheek, and left with Mahaado. _

"_W-wait! I wanna know-" he ran after them into the hall, but they had disappeared. "-when you'll come back…"

* * *

_Seto held the gold dragon in his hand as he stood looking out at the skyline of Domino City in his office. That had happened nine years ago, and he still hadn't forgotten about the prince that visited him. He had looked up every book about pharaohs, every book about Egypt, and had visited every library he could get to whenever he was out of the country. He couldn't find anything about him, until that day in the Egyptian exhibit with Ishizu.

Was he right? Was the other Yuugi that prince? He couldn't tell. But he had the feeling that he was, and the feeling that he should beat him in Duel Monsters, just like how he wanted to beat him at chess eight years ago. But how could be that the other Yuugi was that prince? How could it have happened? That tabulate was from 3000 years ago, and he met that prince eight years ago.

"Hey, Niisama," Mokuba entered the office, and threw his bag on the sofa, and sitting beside.

Seto felt like he needed to tell someone. "Mokuba, I need to talk to you about something, but I feel that you might think that I'm going insane, or that I'm only making this up," he took out a clear-book full of his sketches. "Come, sit here,"

Mokuba did as he was told, and sat on the chair before Seto's desk. "Yes?"

"Do you know who this is?" Seto flipped through the pages, and showed Mokuba the picture he had drawn that day.

"That's Yami, the other Yuugi," said Mokuba, "But wow, you drew him as a child,"

"No, Mokuba, look at the date," Seto pointed at his signature.

Mokuba's eyes widened. "_July 9, 2000_?!" he exclaimed. "That was _nine _years ago!"

"Yeah…"

"You _met_ Yami nine years ago?! How?!"

"I don't even know myself," Seto sighed and sat down.

"You seemed disappointed," Mokuba had noticed that Seto had become sad. "Is there something wrong?"

"Before he left with that robed guy nine years ago, he told me that I'll never forget me," Seto admitted. He had never told anyone this. "And I told myself to never forget him," he held up the gold dragon necklace he had been given.

"Whoa…Seto, when and where did you buy that?" Mokuba asked, watching the dragon twirl in midair. "That's so cool!"

"He gave it me when I drew him," Seto put it back in his pocket, where it had been safe for the past nine years. "I gave him my first sketch of him, and I drew him again before he left. This is it," he handed Mokuba the clear book, and scanned it, seeing that Seto had attempted drawing him in modern clothes, and older.

"Ra, Seto, these are amazing,"

"I have go talk to him about these," he took the clear book from Mokuba's hands and put it in his suitcase.

"What?"

"You heard what I said. I'm going to the Mutous." Said Seto as he put on his coat after fixing his tie for a bit.

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please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Lover from the Future

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Chapter Two: Talk

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"Yes?" Sugoruko opened the door to his shop, and Kaiba Seto in a normal boy's clothes stood there before him, holding what appeared to be a black book in his hands. "Oh, good evening, Kaiba-kun. Are you here to see Yuugi?" he asked, letting Seto in.

"Ojamashimasu," said Seto as he stepped inside, and turned back to the old man who locked the door. "Yes, I am here for Yuugi. May I see him, Sir?"

"Are you here to challenge him again?" Sugoruko joked as he led Seto in the house.

Seto had let out a chuckle with that as he took off his shoes and set them by the stairs, leaving him in socks. "No, Sir, I just want to discuss something with him,"

"I see," Sugoruko nodded. "Well, he's in his room in the second room in the left upstairs. I think he's just doing homework,"

"Thank you," Seto went upstairs, and knocked on the Yuugi's door.

The door opened, revealing Yuugi in light blue pajamas. "Kaiba-kun?"

"Yeah…hi," he said, suppressing a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Yuugi pouted.

"Nothing," Seto answered. "May I come in?"

"Oh, sorry," Yuugi let him in, and let him sit on his rolling chair, and sat on the edge of his bed. "So, something wrong? Oh!" Yuugi cut himself off. "Perfect! You're totally good at timing, Kaiba-kun. Mind helping me with calculus?"

Seto saw Yuugi's open books scattered on his bed, papers everywhere with grades, some were not graded. "That's not why I'm here, Yuugi."

Yuugi sighed. It was the perfect opportunity to learn this blasted topic. "I didn't understand any of this," he set the worksheet aside, "So why _are _you here?"

"I want to talk to the pharaoh," Seto didn't want to waste any time. He wanted to talk to him, and he wanted to talk to him now.

"I thought-"

"That I didn't believe? I lied."

"What made you believe?" Yuugi never thought that Seto would believe. All he knew was Seto knew there was only one Yuugi, and that was who he was talking right now, and also the one dueling in the arena. Seto was never the kind of person who believed in magic.

"I never believed when you told me there was another you. I knew who mou hitori no Yuugi was right from the start. And I'm not lying; I'm not making this up." Seto opened the clear book and gave it to Yuugi. "Look at the date."

"You _drew_ this?!"

"That's the exact same reaction I got from him when he saw the drawings I drew back in the orphanage," Seto stood up and let Yuugi see the other things he had drawn, and put the page back to Yami's portrait.

"You drew him as a child?" Yuugi asked, looking up at him.

"No. Look at the date, Yuugi. July 9, 2000. That was nine years ago. I drew him nine years ago when he was child just like me back in the orphanage. I didn't imagine him, Yuugi, he was in my room, telling me that my name sounded weird, and asked me if I would play with him because he was bored."

"_Nine years ago_?!" Yuugi repeated. "That's impossible! Mou hitori no boku was a pharaoh 3000 years ago!"

"You tell him that. Now, I want answers to this as much as you do. Let me talk to him." Seto insisted.

"It's not like you're going to get any answers from him! He doesn't know anything! He doesn't remember anything from his past! Even his name!"

"I know his name. Is that enough? Is that enough for him to recall everything?" Seto was desperate. He looked into Yuugi's eyes.

"I don't know."

"Then please, let me talk to him." Yuugi sighed, and the puzzle glowed. Yami Yuugi opened his eyes. "It's you…"

"Me what?" he asked. "Kaiba, what are you doing so close to my face?"

"Admiring it."

Yami blushed, and brushed Seto away as he pushed himself back to the center of the bed. "Ok, so you're creeping me out a little bit-" he saw Seto's drawing of him. "Is that me?" he took the book, and couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Are you fantasizing about me?"

"Since I was eight." Seto smirked as he sat back down on the rolling chair, and rolling it closer to the bed. Yami stared at him in disbelief. "Don't you remember me at all?"

"Yes, I do. I see you every day. Why wouldn't I remember you are? You're Yuugi's classmate, Kaiba Seto who wants to beat me in-"

"Chess."

"I was going to say Duel Monsters, but sure, I can play chess with you."

Seto shook his head. "That was the first game I wanted to beat you at."

"Chess?"

"Yes."

"I don't remember playing chess with you." Yami was in thought for a few moments. "Besides, to be honest, I don't know anything from my past. All I know is that I've been trapped in his puzzle, and Yuugi released me when he solved it," he held the puzzle in his hands.

"I can tell you what your name is." Said Seto in the most serious voice he could muster.

Yami laughed as if he were mocking him. "Yeah, right, Kaiba, you know what my name is-"

Seto stood up. "I am not joking, Yami Yuugi. I can tell you your name. If I reveal to you your name, will you be able to remember everything from your past?"

Yami stared at him in shock. He didn't know if Seto was telling the truth. But if he was, what would happen? He had to take the risk. If Seto really knew his name…he can finally die. However, dying would mean that he had to leave Yuugi. "But if it does, Kaiba, I will share with you those memories that I've forgotten. May it be happy, may it be in sorrow. But if you tell me my name, I'll die. I would have you leave you all and move on."

"No," Seto put on knee on the bed, his hands on the sheets. "I want to know everything about you…there must be a spell to create a body for you-"

"How do you know I can perform spells?"

"You told me,"

"No, Kaiba. I perform Black Magic. Dark Sorcery. I can't just recall one and use it for my benefit! The Dark Art of Magic is used for the control of people and animals, and war. Black Magic for one's desire to gain something or someone in life is done…only when you have something to give up in exchange…something or someone very dear,"

Seto grabbed Yami's shoulders. "How dear are we talking about?"

Yami looked at him, as if he pitied him. "You can lose your eyesight…your voice…your brother…"

Seto let him go. "No! There must be something I can give up!" he sighed, surrendering and sitting on Yuugi's bed, looking down at his hands that rested on his thigh. He just had to give up something. He couldn't give up his voice or his eyesight, he needed it for work, and he couldn't give up Mokuba…he was way more important to him than anything in the world.

Yami lifted Seto's face and had him look at him in the eye. "There is nothing you can give up that will let you live the way you do now. I really do want a body of my own and live amongst you guys in this time. If I do this on my own, I could lose Yuugi, I could lost Grandpa, I could lose Yuugi's friends…I could lose you…do you understand? Do you understand how risky Black Magic is?"

Seto was silent, and turned back to looking at his hands on his thigh. He then got it. "If I give up my three Blue Eyes, will you do it? Will that be enough?"

"Y-you can't…"

"Yes, I can, and I will." Yami didn't have the heart to look at him. "Now I have something I'm willing to give up, and you won't take it. What more do you want?" Seto wanted Yami to look at him, but he didn't.

"You can't give up Blue Eyes, Kaiba! We still have a lot of duels to-"

He was cut off by Seto who smashed his lips against his, and forcing his tongue inside Yami's mouth, and pushing him on back to the open books behind him. Seto didn't kiss him very long, and pulled away in a few moments, breathing hardly, staring at the smaller male under him. "Does that prove…how much…I want you to…get your own body…? And how far…I had gotten…that I'm willing to give up…Blue Eyes for you…?"

Yami cupped Seto's face, and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "You know, there was always something about you that…makes me…want to…get close to you…" Yami's forehead met Seto's.

"The moment Yuugi turned into you, I had the urge to call you by your name and embrace you as if you were someone I have-"

Yami shushed him with a finger on Seto's lips. "You are going to tell me my name. If I remember everything, I'll find a way…" he smiled, and the puzzle glowed.

"No, don't-"

"What are you doing?" Yuugi asked.

"DAMMIT!" Seto got off the bed and grabbed his book. "I'm ready to give up the very thing that put me in my place right now and he denies it?!"

"Denies what?"

Seto didn't answer. "Thank you for your time, Yuugi. It seems that I have just wasted my time talking with the Pharaoh. In return for taking the time you should have spent doing your assignment, I shall take your calculus homework and Isono will hand it to you early tomorrow morning. I will not attend school nor work tomorrow."

Yuugi blushed. "N-no, it's ok, you don't have to-"

"Yuugi, I need something to take my mind off what happened tonight, now please, hand me the damn worksheet, and I'll answer it for you with the complete solution on a nice sheet of substance-24 typewriting paper tomorrow." Seto insisted.

"O-okay…" he said, handing Seto the two page worksheet.

"Expect a perfect score, Yuugi,"

Before Seto could leave the room, Yuugi mustered the courage to ask what had happened between him and Yami. "What happened?"

Seto stopped in his steps. "Yuugi, if I told you that I would give up Blue Eyes for a life, would you believe me?"

Yuugi stared at him. "Are you serious?" he didn't wait for Seto to answer. "To be honest, no,"

"I thought so," Seto left the room without another word.

* * *

Seto threw the clear book on his bed and grabbed a pencil from his desk. "This should be easy," he said as he sat down and began answering Yuugi's homework. "Derivatives. Great. They're this early on the subject and he's complaining."

_Chain Rule_

_We can fine the derivative of the function y = (3 + 6x)² by writing the function as y = (3 + 6x)(3 + 6x) and using the product rule as follows: _

_y¹ = dy/dx = (3 + 6x)(6) + (3 + 6x)(6)_

_= 18 + 36x + 18 +36x_

_= 36 + 72x_

_We could find the derivative of………_

Seto didn't finish the notes attached to the worksheet and grabbed a white sheet of paper and began answering the mountain of questions Yuugi's teacher had given him. As he started on the first few numbers, he heard steps from his door, and he knew exactly who it was. "Mokuba, it's already eleven. Why aren't you asleep yet?" he asked, not even bothering to look at his brother.

"How did it go?"

"Like shit."

"What do you mean like poop?" Mokuba asked, interfering with what Seto was doing, and forcing himself on Seto's lap. "What happened?" the boy looked up at him.

Seto sighed. "He didn't take it,"

"Take what?"

"Mokuba, I don't want to talk about it. Go to sleep,"

"What if I tell you I want to sleep with you tonight?"

"I'm doing homework,"

"You never did homework."

"Alright, you caught me, it's Yuugi's homework; I offered to do it," Seto put the pencil down. "Now, Mokuba, get in my bed. I'll be done with this in twenty minutes," he kissed Mokuba's forehead.

"Can I go get Ao?" Mokuba asked. (1)

Seto raised his brow. "Who's Ao?"

"The bear you gave me on my 9th birthday, one of your gifts,"

He remembered giving Mokuba a huge, blue bear. "Oh. Ao. So that's what you named him," he chuckled. "Go on. Don't run down the hallway. No one's chasing you,"

Mokuba gave Seto a kiss on his lips, and ran out Seto's room. Seto rolled his eyes, then taking a glimpse of the photo Mokuba forced onto his desk. The photo framed on his desk was taken in his office on the top floor of his office in America. Yami wasn't there. Yuugi was.

"Seto, please finish that. I want to sleep," said Mokuba, getting into Seto's bed.

"Hai, hai," Seto took a last look at that photo, at Yuugi, before getting back to Yuugi's assignment.

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(1) Ao - Ao means blue.

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please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Future Lover

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Chapter 3: Evasion

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There was no doubt that Yami was enjoying his sleep in his soul room. If that damn clock didn't ring. He noticed that Yuugi didn't get up, and he decided to pay him a visit in his soul room. When he had gotten to his feet, the bed disappeared. "Doesn't he have school today?" he asked himself as he exited the room. He knocked on Yuugi's door, but the boy didn't answer, so he went in. "Yuugi, aren't you going to wake up? You have school," he said, sitting on the bed.

"Will you go to school for me? I finished the physics homework last night 'til one thirty." He said, not bothering to open his eyes. Yuugi pulled up his sheets and turned away from Yami. "You'll survive eight hours Yami, thank you,"

"You have got to be kidding me!" he said, but Yuugi didn't say anything and he got a soft snore for a reply. "Radammit, Yuugi!" he went out Yuugi's room and took over the body. He sighed as he made his way to the bathroom. "Why do _I _have to go to school?" he said, getting in the shower.

After he had gotten ready, he grabbed Yuugi's bag and took an apple from the kitchen and went on his way. As he entered the shop, he heard Grandpa's voice from the stockroom. "Yuugi? Yuugi?" he said, coming out from the room. "Kaiba-kun's driver dropped this off a few minutes ago. He said it was for you," he handed Yami the papers. "Oh, it's you, Yami."

"Yeah. Yuugi kinda slept in," he laughed nervously. "I'm gonna go now, Grandpa, see you later,"

"Be careful, Yami," he said, and then louder, "Do you know how to cross the street?"

Yami waved has he opened the door. "Yes, Grandpa, I know how to cross the street,"

As we walked to school, he thought about what Seto had said last night. Why was he so willing to give up Blue Eyes? What was so special about him that he was so prepared to give up the very thing that helped him to get to his position right now? Maybe he was just kidding. If he was, he was a damn good actor.

"Yuugi!" Yami turned around, and saw Jou running towards him. "Wait up!"

"Ohayou, Jou," said Yami, turning back to walk again when Jou had caught up with him.

"So, what's in your mind? You look kinda off," Jou asked as they stepped down on the white lines of the pedestrian. "Something happen between you and Yuugi? You don't normally take his place in school," he said, trying to take a glimpse of Yami's serious face.

Yami sighed. "Nothing's between me and Yuugi. He's decided to sleep in, and I, being the good spirit that I am agreed to take his place in school," he said, and they stepped onto the sidewalk once again. It had been a long time since Yami took a little walk, and it was nice, though the things in his mind weren't so pleasing. Well, actually, it was, since the person he had been admiring for quite some time now…just…you know…kissed him.

"Dude, you ok? You're red!" Jou's voice him broke him from his trance. He was happily recalling how gently, desperately, and passionately Seto had just kissed him.

"Jou, you idiot," Yami looked at him with his eyebrows slightly meeting, his face turning back to its pale colour.

"What?" Yami walked faster, so did Jou. "What?" he repeated as he ran after Yami into school. "You _have _a problem! And you're not telling me! That's so unfair! Hey!"

"Jounouchi, shut the fuck up and let the boy go,"

Jou turned to the voice that came from his left. It was Seto, coming out of a red and black Bugatti Veyron. "Kaiba." He growled. "Nice car." He said sarcastically. "Mind if I drive?"

"I'd rather take you, your sister, and your father's death than you drive my car, Jounouchi." Seto glared at him, then headed for his classroom.

"H-hey! Don't you turn your back on me or I'll-" Jou stopped when Seto stopped in his steps.

Seto faced him, and people around them stopped what they were doing to watch them. "Or you'll what? Throw your shoe at me? Challenge me to a duel you know you're going to lose? Punch me in the face? Hit my car's windshield with an aluminum baseball bat?"

Jou was silent for a moment. "I was thinking about that last option-"

"Do it, and I swear, you will be working your ass off for me for life to get me that $1.2M car fixed,"

* * *

_8:00 am; Math._

'What's he doing here? Yuugi said he wasn't going to come to school today.' Yami thought, putting his bag down on the floor beside his chair at the back as he watched Seto enter the room and put his bag down a few seats awy from him. 'Hm.' He took out his math notebook and the homework Seto did for Yuugi. He hoped that the teacher forgot the assignment so that if ever the teacher told him to copy one of this solutions on the board, he wouldn't be the one explaining it.

It was also a good thing that there was no name at the top of the worksheet. There, he wrote Seto's name in kanji. That as something he could do with his eyes shut. Seto's name was printed everywhere. It was a good thing that he was reborn into this world with all the knowledge he needed, but only the knowledge he need in Japan. But seriously, he knew everything he needed, he didn't need to go to school!

Good. The teacher didn't remember the assignment, maybe he could be able to understand what this math Yuugi was worrying about today, then maybe he could teach it to him when they got home. He buried his face in his notebook, copying the lessons the teacher wrote on the board.

"Mr. Kaiba," Yami's head shot up. "You were absent yesterday, and I want to know if you had bothered to ask one of your classmates for the lesson today." I looked over to him, his notebook open, nothing written on it, making it seem as if he was writing something. "Answer the first question on the board, Mr. Kaiba," I watched him stand up and approach the board, and answered the question.

_y = 4x(2x + 3)²_

_= x(32x + 48) + 4(2x + 3)²_

_= 48x² + 96x + 36 _

He put he chalk down, and went back to his seat. 'How the freaking hell did he solve that?' Yami thought.

"Good, good," said the teacher. "Did everybody understand?"

A lot of them nodded, and Yami let his head hit the desk. "I didn't understand a fucking thing,"

* * *

_9:00am; Elective: Trigonometry _

Yami had his forehead against his desk. 'I give up…I freaking give up…this is only the second hour in school, and I give up…I don't want to come back here ever again. I'm staying in my soul room, and I will not come out, whatever happens-'

"Mr Mutou?"

Yami's head shot up. "Yes?"

"Is there anything wrong?" the teacher asked him.

Yami knew exactly the situation. It was what Jou was good at: making up excuses. He put on a tired look as he put his elbow on the desk and rested his head on his hand. "No, Sensei, I just have a headache,"

"Do you need to go to the clinic?"

"No, Sensei, I can handle it," he answered.

"Ok, now, get your notebooks. We have a new lesson, the Law of Tangents…"

Yami let his head hit the desk once again in defeat. He wanted his mind to wander, but he couldn't. He couldn't help but listen. Maybe it was because he knew that listening would be for Yuugi's good. He took Yuugi's notebook out from the bag, and started copying the formulas being written on the board.

"Hey, Yams." Jou tried to get Yami's attention. "Yams!"

"What?" Yami turned to the blonde sitting beside him.

"Is it me, or is Kaiba over there has been staring at you since Calculus?"

Yami looked over to the other side of the room. Seto _was_ staring at him. Blood rushed to his face and continued with the lecture. "It's not you Jou, it really is him," _a-b/a+b…_

"Damn rich boy threatened me this morning," said Jou, grabbing a pencil from his bag and doing the same as Yami, copying notes.

"Threatened you of what?" Yami asked nervously. Was Seto still staring at him? If so, why? Was it because of last night? Was it because of the notion of giving up Blue Eyes? No, he couldn't possibly give up Blue Eyes; he loved it like it was a real creature he was taking care of! Yami's face flushed with red once more. Was it…because…of the _kiss_? SHIT. He even gave him a peck. How stupid!

"To work for him to pay his million dollar car," Jou pouted and crossed his arms.

"Well, maybe because you said that you'd beat the hell out of his windshield,"

"K-kinda…"

The teacher started to talk once again. "Alright, put your pencils down, and look at me. We're going to solve this problem…"

Yami glanced over at Seto again. He was still looking at him. He turned away quickly as he met Seto's eyes and put his attention on understanding the lesson Yuugi's teacher was teaching. He didn't have a choice; besides, the best thing to do right now, was to avoid Seto at the moment, and think of something to get him not to give up Blue Eyes for his Black Magic. Maybe he cared for Seto's image too much. Maybe he knew that if Seto gave up Blue Eyes, he knew he wouldn't have any other worthy opponent. No. Blue Eyes _had_ to stay. It's will not be sent into oblivion.

Half an hour later, Yami couldn't believe it. He had actually _understood_ Trigonometry. For a moment there, he had forgotten that Seto was staring at him, and that Jou was complaining about how long and difficult the solution as. "You know Jou," said Yami, "If you had bothered to listen, you could have understood it like I did. Ra, Jou, I'm a 3000 year old pharaoh and I beat you at Duel Monsters _and_ school,"

"Stop shoving it in my face, Your Majesty, or you'll get a punch to the face,"

"You'll be punching Yuugi's face, not mine," Yami circled his one of his final answers and stood up to submit his seatwork.

"Oh, Mutou-kun, will you give these back to the owners please," said the teacher, handing Yuugi half the class's notebooks. "Thank you,"

Yami raised his brows. "Ok," he said, and began distributing the notebooks. Honda. Mazaki. Kaiba. Yami didn't like the sound of that. The notebook he was holding right now was Seto's. He walked to the end of the room with his head down, and put the notebook on his desk without another word.

* * *

_10:00am; Recess_

"What are you getting?" Honda asked, picking up a carton of milk as he followed Yami in the line. "There's nothing good. It's always the same food every day,"

"Come on, Honda, this is a public school, what do you expect?" said Yami, taking a bowl of ramen and a can of coke. "I don't know if I can live without these present day stuff in the afterlife. I mean, I don't think I'll be able to eat Egyptian stuff again after adapting to Japan,"

Honda laughed. "Then don't leave. Besides, if Yuugi finds out that you've decided to stay he'll definitely be happy," he took a bow of ramen as well and returned the milk, also taking a coke. "And we'll also be happy. It's not every day you get a reincarnated pharaoh for a friend."

Yami chuckled and led Honda to the table where the others were. "Why'd you get the same stuff?" asked Jou, shoving breaded pork in his mouth.

"Because unlike you Jou, they don't have to eat rice and pork or beef or fish or chicken every time we have a break," said Anzu, taking some steamed vegetables into her mouth. "You're such a pig, Jounouchi Katsuya,"

Yami and Honda laughed. "Shut up," said Jou, pouting as he put a piece of pork cutlet in his mouth full of rice.

Anzu saw Seto approaching. "Is Kaiba coming over?"

"What?" Yami put the bowl down after a few gulps of soup and looked up. He didn't meet Seto's eye and continued to eat.

"I need to talk with you." Said the firm voice.

"What for?" Yami didn't look up.

"Screw this." Seto grabbed Yami's hand and pulled him out of the cafeteria.

"H-hey! That hurts! Let me go!" Seto didn't loosen his grip on Yami's hand. "That's going to bruise!"

"At least it's Yuugi's body not yours," said Seto, leading Yami to a secluded place in the back of the school. There was a huge tree there that could provide an amount of people shade, and that was where Seto pulled him. Seto almost threw Yami to the trunk of the tree and hit the wood near Yami's ear and leaned on it. "What the fuck did I do now?" he demanded.

"Wh-what are you talking about-"

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Seto cut him off. "Why the hell are you avoiding me? Is it because of what I said last night? Because I can assure you that I'm not pulling your leg. Or do you want me to jump off the roof of the school to prove to you that I'm not lying?"

"I'm not saying that you're lying!"

"Well you sure damn look like you are."

"I am trying my best to give you what you want, because I've just realized that I do want this, too," said Yami looking at him. Seto turned his face away. Yami lifted his face so that Seto'd look at him. "Remember what I said last night? That there was something about you that kept pulling me closer? I don't know what that is…but now…I think I do, after last night. It seems to me that I've known you for centuries…"

"You have, Yami, you have!" said Seto, "Do you want me to tell you your name?"

"I'll die if you do, you know that," Yami said softly. "Come on…Kai-"

"Seto."

"What?"

"Call me Seto."

"But you don't let anyone call you by your first name,"

"You're an exception,"

Yami sighed, and continued with what he was supposed to say. "Come on, Seto. Just please…wait…we can get through this-"

"What if the time does come? That Yuugi will be the one to tell you your name? And you _have_ to go? What if-"

"Seto, I will find away. I _will_."

* * *

please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Four: Human

* * *

'Yuugi, please let me be out here a little bit longer,' said Yami as he walked away from Seto who was still under the tree. "I'm going home,"

_Why? You still have English, Japanese Literature, PE and Physics! You'd be…no, I'd be cutting classes!_

Yami made his way back to the classroom and took his bag. 'English and Japanese teachers are with a few students in a declamation contest outside the city, PE Teacher's in a sportsfest with the varsities in another school, I don't know what the name and your physics teacher is in the hospital, his wife is giving birth,'

_Oh. Well, ok. _

'Ra, Yuugi,' Yami grabbed Yuugi's things and ran out the classroom.

_Whoa. Whoa. Are you crying? What just happened? _

'You know that I'd choose the afterlife over this anytime right?'

_Yeah, why? _

'I don't want to die anymore, Yuugi,' Yami wiped his tears with his blue uniform sleeve as he walked out the school. 'I don't want to go anymore.'

_What? Why? Come on, mou hitori no boku, you've been waiting for this for such a long time! It's not that I'm telling you to go or anything, but this is what you've-_

'I know, I know.' Yami cut him off. 'But what if I tell you that there's a reason? That there's a reason for my desire to stay? And you know that one of those reasons is you,'

Yuugi was silent for a moment, letting Yami walk a few more yards before he spoke again. _It's Kaiba isn't it? _

'I don't know why, Yuugi, I really don't know why…' Yami calmed himself down as he crossed the street. 'I don't remember who he is at all…but he's so…so…'

_Familiar? _

'Yes!'

_Let's go home, mou hitori no boku, and talk about this. _

Yami didn't answer and kept walking.

* * *

"Mr Kaiba, where are you going?" the principal saw Seto walking out to the school parking lot as she went after him, headed for the red and black Bugatti Veyron. "I will have to get your adviser sign you an infraction report," she threatened him as she watched him get in the car.

Seto let the engine roar to life and rolled down the window. "You are, are you? Well, you can have that damn teacher sign as many infraction reports as you want. Suspend me, give me an F for conduct or failure due to absences or hell even expel me, I don't care. I can sue you anytime." He rolled up the window again, and floored it, screeching the car out of the school grounds.

As he drove to Akatsuki International Schools and Colleges, Mokuba's school, he grabbed his phone and called the boy.

'Big brother? What's wrong?'

"Get your things. I'm fetching you from school. I'm on my way,"

'What? Why?'

"Just do what I say, Mokuba. We're going to the Cove,"

'We are?'

"Yes, we are. I'm going to talk to your adviser so you can come with me. But don't tell them we're only leaving school for a walk on the beach, am I understood?"

'Yes.'

"Get your things, Mokuba. I'll be there in less than five minutes."

'Ok,' Seto hung up.

He hit the brakes and parked the car in front of the school. "Good morning, Mr Kaiba," said the school guard as he opened the gates for him.

Seto ignored his greeting. "Where is the elementary building?"

"That one," he pointed to the building on the left part of the school grounds.

Seto walked to its direction, and headed for the faculty lounge. He knocked on the door. "Komori-sensei?" he called out to the numerous teachers inside the room, and a female teacher approached him. "You Mokuba's adviser?"

"Yes, Mr Kaiba," she said, pushing him gently out the room, and closing the door behind her. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'm here to fetch my brother. Where is he?"

"He's in the playground in the back. I see. I'm going to ask you for a valid reason for the fetching of your brother so early in the day-"

"I am aware that I am here five hours early, don't you think I know that?" Seto cut her off angrily. "Don't you also think that I'd waste my time coming here, talking to you, when I can let my driver give you excuses on why I want my brother out of school? You want the reason? Fine. I'll be taking him to Europe for the rest of the week with me. Is that a valid reason enough? Or do you want me to recite every single thing that we are to do in west?"

She stared at him, not being able to speak.

"Good. You have enough common sense to fear me." He walked away from her and went downstairs to the playground, just as the teacher had said. Mokuba saw him before he came out the building, and ran to him with his backpack hanging loosely on one shoulder. "Let's go," he grabbed Mokuba's hand and led him out the school. "Get in the car," he said, letting him go. Once Mokuba had closed the door, Seto hit the gas and headed for the express way, and turned to a small street.

"So, can you explain to me why we are going to the Cove on a weekday?"

Seto took a turn to an asphalted forest path. "I just need to think."

"You can think better without me." Mokuba tried to reason.

"I can take care of you better than the maids and butlers at home even when I'm thinking," he kept his eyes on the road, careful not to hit any animals if even one crossed. "I need you near me. I might do something stupid."

Mokuba stared at him. "Do something stupid? Since when have you been doing stupid things, Seto?" he asked

"Since I went to the Mutous and told Yami I know some things about him,"

"Whoa." Mokuba stayed silent for a few moments. "When do I get a car like this?"

Seto chuckled. That made him a little relieved. "When you turn eighteen,"

"Hey, no fair! You're seventeen and you get all your cars!"

* * *

"What if this isn't just something Seto wants to happen when because he wants to beat me or anything,"

Yuugi looked at Yami in his transparent form, sitting on his bed, watching Yami pace back in forth in his room. _Wait a sec, hold up. What did you just call Kaiba?_

Yami stopped in his steps. "Seto?"

_Are you even allowed to call him that? One thing I know, he hates being called by his first name. The only one allowed to do that is Mokuba. _

"But he told me that I can,"

_Can what?_

"Call him by his first name."

_He told you that you can, or he told you that you are to call him that? _

"I am to call him that," Yami slowly answered.

_Ra, Yami, what have you gotten yourself into?_

"I don't even know myself," he sat down beside him. "What if I _do_ find a way to get myself into this time? What if it doesn't work? What if this isn't just something the both of us want? What if something goes wrong or-"

Yami felt his soul slapped by Yuugi. _You two are the ones who wanted this to happen, and now you doubt what you can do? I thought you also wanted to stay? Not just for me, for Kaiba, for everybody and everything that is the 21__st__ century. If you want this, do it! There will be risks, of course, but Yami…_ Yuugi lifted Yami's chin. _You do know…what you're feeling right now is, right? _

"No. I'm frustrated. I feel disappointed with myself that I can't do what he and I want. I feel like to want to avoid him even though I want to be with him. I feel nervous when he's around at the same time I'm relieved. I want him to wait for me and let me think about this at the same time I want to do it right now so that we'd both be happy. I don't know…there are all these things that I'm feeling…I don't know why they're happening…"

Yuugi smiled at him, then pulled him into a hug. _You died young; of course you wouldn't be able to feel them. Ra, I'm so proud of you, Yami, you're starting to become human again._

Yami brushed Yuugi away gently. "How is this becoming human? These feelings are irrational! I can't think straight; I can't make decisions; I'm always confused-"

_That's what being human is, mou hitori no boku. Being human is being irrational, being confused. Humans don't make the right decisions all the time. We make stupid decisions, do stupid things, talk about stupid stuff…humans aren't perfect. Humans strive for excellence, not perfection. _

"And why? Is there some explanation for all this?"

_Yes. Love. _

"Love? Why?"

_Love can make you do the stupidest things, mou hitori no boku. If you love someone, you'll do anything for them. Does that explain everything? Everything you've been feeling? Why you're so confused and frustrated? Why do you think Kaiba wants this so much?_

Yami smiled in relief. "Yes…yes it does…"

_Good. I'm glad I could help. Now. If you're going to stay out here, I'm fine with it. I think I'm going to sleep again. Invite me to your wedding._ Yuugi disappeared.

* * *

please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Five: Memories

* * *

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" there was a knock on Yami's chamber doors.

"Yes?" Mahaado kneeled at the sight of him. "O-oh. S-stand up,"

Mahaado looked up at him. "Is something the matter, Your Majesty? You seem not yourself lately," he said, standing up as Yami had said. "Does something bother you?"

Yami left the door open and sat on his bed. "I…I don't know. I mean I-" he realized that Mahaado was still standing at the threshold of his doors. "Uh, why aren't you coming in? I left the door open so you'd enter,"

"His Majesty has not given his Defense the permission to enter the room,"

"O-Kay…." He said, motioning Mahaado to come in and the sorcerer closed the door. "Do I seem different to you?" Yami asked. "I mean…do I seem…I don't know…just different? I feel like…I don't belong here, like I don't think that I was meant to be here,"

Mahaado stared at his king lying on the huge bed, seeing his chest rise and fall as he breathed. "You do seem different, Your Majesty, but I take that as a good thing, and please don't ever say that you don't belong to the country you were born and bred, and the country you are ruling,"

"Pssss." Said Yami. "Leave me alone to rule Egypt and I assure you, in a day's time, Egypt will fall," he sat up. "I mean look at me, I'm a seventeen year old boy who's still in the process of puberty who likes hanging out with friends in the nearest Starbucks café drinking vanilla frappes and eating cheesecakes; a boy who has just gone into a year of high school and learned Trigonometry; a boy who is dying of heat in Egypt 3000 years from the 21st century where is no Poccari!"

Mahaado had no choice but to stare at his ranting king. "Permission to speak, Your Majesty,"

"Yeah, sure," said Yami sadly.

"First of all, Your Majesty, what are Starbucks café, vanilla frappes, cheesecakes, high school, trigonometry, and Poccari?" he asked.

Yami lied on the bed again, and exhaled. "Starbucks is a coffee shop, vanilla frappes are kinda like milkshakes, only better. High school is the school where teens like myself go to to learn. Cheesecakes…are…are…well they're pretty damn good cakes. And Poccari is…is…I guess it's something you drink when it's too hot."

"I see,"

The sun was about to set. The sky was purple and orange. "Hey, Mahaado, will you please leave me alone for a while? I'll be back in time for dinner. And don't send anyone after me. _Or else_,"

That _or else _scared the hell out of Mahaado and kneeled. "Of course, Your Majesty. I shall see to it that none of your other Priests will do as you command."

"Good," Yami stood up and ran into the hall. There was a part of the gardens only he knew, and that was where he was going. He sat under a tree behind the bushes in its shade. Then he remembered the things Seto had said.

_Yami lifted Seto's face and had him look at him in the eye. "There is nothing you can give up that will let you live the way you do now. I really do want a body of my own and live amongst you guys in this time. If I do this on my own, I could lose Yuugi, I could lost Grandpa, I could lose Yuugi's friends…I could lose you…do you understand? Do you understand how risky Black Magic is?" _

_Seto was silent, and turned back to looking at his hands on his thigh. He then got it. "If I give up my three Blue Eyes, will you do it? Will that be enough?"  
_

"_Y-you can't…"_

"_Yes, I can, and I will." Yami didn't have the heart to look at him. "Now I have something I'm willing to give up, and you won't take it. What more do you want?" Seto wanted Yami to look at him, but he didn't._

"_You can't give up Blue Eyes, Kaiba! We still have a lot of duels to-" _

_He was cut off by Seto who smashed his lips against his, and forcing his tongue inside Yami's mouth, and pushing him on back to the open books behind him. Seto didn't kiss him very long, and pulled away in a few moments, breathing hardly, staring at the smaller male under him. "Does that prove…how much…I want you to…get your own body…? And how far…I had gotten…that I'm willing to give up…Blue Eyes for you…?"_

Yami blushed. Seto was his…first kiss…his first, real kiss. "Why did this have to happen…"

"_You know very well what I'm talking about," Seto cut him off. "Why the hell are you avoiding me? Is it because of what I said last night? Because I can assure you that I'm not pulling your leg. Or do you want me to jump off the roof of the school to prove to you that I'm not lying?" _

"_I'm not saying that you're lying!" _

"_Well you sure damn look like you are." _

"_I am trying my best to give you what you want, because I've just realized that I do want this, too," said Yami looking at him. Seto turned his face away. Yami lifted his face so that Seto'd look at him. "Remember what I said last night? That there was something about you that kept pulling me closer? I don't know what that is…but now…I think I do, after last night. It seems to me that I've known you for centuries…"_

"_You have, Yami, you have!" said Seto, "Do you want me to tell you your name?"_

"My name…" he whispered. "I've been here a long time now, and I still don't know my name…perhaps it is too regal to be spoken by someone who does not come directly from the royal blood line," he said to himself, and then, "Prove…why does he want to prove so much that he's serious? I know very well that he is," tears started to stream down his face. "Seto…you don't have to prove anything…I already know…" Yami had already started to sob. "How much you want me to stay…but until now…I still haven't thought up of anything…if you were here…that's proof enough…"

A tree branch snapped, and something in a dirty, white tunic had fallen from the tree. Yami yelped, and suddenly stood up, wiping his tears hastily away. "Ite, ite, ite…." The form tried to sit up.

Yami can recognize that tone of skin colour and hair anywhere in the world, anytime. "Seto!" he said, kneeling and helping him sit up. "You're here…you're actually here..!!" he cupped Seto's face and wiped the sweat away from Seto's dirtied face with his cape.

"Yeah," Seto gave a tired chuckle. "You said…you wanted me here…so here I am,"

Yami didn't think twice and smashed his lips against the other's. Seto quickly took control; his big hands on Yami's neck, not letting him go and had Yami sit on his lap. Yami pulled away, gasping for air. "I'm alive…I have my own…body…"

Seto smiled, also panting. Yami put his arms around his neck. "Yes…I can very well…see that…" he planted a kiss on Yami's lips.

Yami's eyes widened. "How did you get in the palace?!"

"I dressed up as a slave to get to you,"

"How did you know I was here?"

"I followed you from the garden. I was tending to the plants,"

"And nobody thought you looked like Seth?"

"No. I used a pair of contacts with a lighter shade of blue, look,"

He was right. "Seto…I'm so sorry…I still haven't thought of anything…" Yami started to cry again.

"Yeah, I know, I heard you," Seto brushed Yami's bangs behind his ear.

"Now…that I have my body for a short time…I want you to have it…I'm yours…"

"N-no! I didn't want you to have your body in my own time so I can take it…I wanted to be with you, that was the reason-"

Yami silenced him with a finger on his lips. "Please..." he buried himself in Seto's neck. "I'm yours…I want you to have me…I don't have much time both in this time and in yours…please…"

Seto placed his hands on Yami's thighs, slowly caressing the soft skin up to under what it seemed to be a pencil skirt. He kissed down Yami's neck. "Are you sure you want this, Your Majesty?"

Yami let out a high pitched moan, feeling Seto pull down his underwear and touch his entrance. "Y-yes…"

"This will hurt at first,"

"I don't care…take me…" Yami put his and Seto's lips together, and he felt something nudging his entrance. "Wh-what's-" Yami gagged and grabbed onto Seto's back, almost tearing Seto's tunic. "S-se…to…"

"Does it hurt?"

"N-no…" Yami lied, his tears streaming furiously down his reddening face. "D-do…whatever you want…"

* * *

"Oi, Heika dai jou ka?" (2)

Yami nodded. "Un…I'm ok,"

"Do you want me to carry you to the palace?" Seto asked, kissing Yami's forehead.

"Yes, please," said Yami. "I don't think I'll be able to sit or stand for a while," Seto stood up and carried him a bridal fashion and headed for the palace. "They won't touch you. I'll tell them to 'set you free' and that you are to live in a small condo like home near the palace,"

"You sure? I'd rather sleep in the kitchen to give you breakfast in the morning," Seto kept quiet as he walked through the halls of the palace, as Yami guided him to his room.

"Then I'd make you my personal 'servant.'" He pecked Seto on the lips before he opened the door to his room.

"I'll see you in the morning then?" Seto put him down on his bed.

"I'll see you in the morning,"

* * *

(1) Ow, ow, ow…

(2) Hey, Your Majesty, are you ok?


	6. Chapter 6

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Six: Slave

* * *

Seto lay down on his stone bed with a thin line of matress, if that was what it was called. It was the only thing the slaves were given, and of course a thin cotton blanket and a small pillow. He stared up at the ceiling, one hand under his head and the other on his growling stomach. In irritation, he sat up. "Ugh, some billionaire I turned out to be. 3000 years from now I'd be the son of a bastard,"

"Hey, you, you're not from around here, are you?" he heard a female voice. He was sure that the question was directed to him. Only two slaves were allowed per room, and that room was like the width of two cars.

"I-I'm not," he said, taking the case of his contact lenses from his pocket, and proceeded to take the contacts off. "I guess that's easy to tell,"

"What the hell are you doing to your eyes?!" said the girl as she sat down on her own bed, setting two candles down the rock that took the place of a bedside drawer.

"I'm taking my contact lenses off," he said, "Or to put it simply, I'm changing the colour of my eyes,"

"You can do that?!"

"Yes,"

"Lemme see! Do it! Change the colour of your eyes!" she said, kneeling before Seto's bed.

He rolled his eyes and took one lens out. "My eyes are cobalt. This is a lighter colour than cobalt," he put the lens on his right eye, and let the girl see. "OK?" he took it off again, keeping it in its chemical filled case, and set it on the rock beside his bed.

"Awesome," she went back to her bed. "So, what's your name? Where are you from? How come you have such pale skin? Are you sick?"

Seto sighed. He didn't want to answer any of the girl's questions, but he thought that he might as well get to know the people here if he was go get closer to their king. "My name is Seto. I'm from the east, from a country called Japan. This is the natural colour of my skin, and no, I'm not sick," he lied down.

"I'm Neema by the way. It's nice meeting you, Se-"

"Call me Kaiba," Seto cut her off. Hearing his name from other people other than himself, Mokuba and Yami was unnerving. It made him cringe.

"But you said your name was-"

"Kaiba is my surname. That's what other people me. Only three people are allowed to call me by my first name.,"

"Okaayyyy….So, I bet a lot of slaves have been picking on you for being different. I mean, you have pale skin, and you have blue eyes." She started.

"_You_ have white hair, isn't it rare for Egyptians such as yourself to have white hair?"

She frowned and continued. "Blue eyes are rare here in Egypt. The only person we know with blue eyes Priest Se-" she got cut off with her own thoughts. "Hey…I may be a slave but I'm not stupid. You look exactly like High Priest Seth! Only with fairer skin!"

"If you weren't that stupid you should have figured that out the moment you saw my face,"

"Hey, if you're going to be mean to me, I'm going to tell His Excellency about you," Neema paused. "And about His Majesty," she smirked.

Seto quickly sat up. "What?!"

"Oh, I know about you and His Majesty. I saw you carrying him in his chambers a few hours ago. You think nobody saw you? I did. I was dusting the artifacts in the hallways and the paintings. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_ is allowed to touch or carry His Majesty that way." She explained.

"Alright! Alright! I'll stop being a bastard; just don't tell any of the priests or advisers or whoever who's a member of the council or the administration!"

"Tell me why,"

"Why what?"

"Why you were holding him that way,"

"What?!" he said, appalled.

"Come on! I can keep secrets!" she took off a gold necklace that wrapped around her tanned neck. "Here," she put it around his neck. "This is one of my grandma's charmed necklaces, and one of the only things she left of me. As long as you have that, I will not tell anyone, but if you lose that, I will tell the High Priest of your existence,"

Seto held the gold pendant in his hand. It was a gold version of the symbol of Monster Reborn. "Alright, I'll tell you," she sat back down on her bed. "I swear if you tell anyone I will kill you myself,"

"I won't! I won't!"

"He and I met when we were kids." Seto started. Neema listened intently. "When we met again a year ago, he didn't remember me, but I remembered him. He considered me a rival in dueling, a passion we both had, and I played along, throwing insults at him and at his friends as time passed. I'm glad he didn't take those insults seriously. When I finally approached him about meeting a few years back," he paused, _More like a few millennia back _he thought, "he said he couldn't remember, but he said that I was familiar in some way."

"Oi, you," two plates of food slid under flap which looked like a dog exit or something. There was porridge, and a few pieces of boiled meat.

"Dinner! Great!" said Neema, taking the two plates and handing one to Seto. The spoons were given to them a few seconds later.

"What the fuck is this?" Seto asked, staring at the food on the rock by his bedside. "It looks like someone ate rice and regurgitated it,"

Neema swallowed. "It's the only thing you've got. To be honest, being a slave here in the palace is better than being a slave in the homes or rich Egyptian people. Here, as long as you do what they say, you don't get punished. The cook the food just for you, and they give bigger bowls of it, even with meat! We're not slaves, we're servants,"

"What do you mean with rich Egyptian people?" he still didn't touch the food.

She put the bowl down on her bed, and to Seto, it seemed like she was sad. "With them, the female slaves get raped by their sons, multiple times, with multiple men even." Seto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "They give us food, yes, but the food that is given to us is the leftovers, sometimes not even good for all of us. Here, they give us space, and a bed, a pillow. There, we sleep in the stables with the horses. If there was a slave one of the Masters or Mistresses didn't like, they'd have them punished to death just because. Here, the guards don't even touch us, they flirt with the pretty ones, yes, but they never touched any of us."

"And you've experienced all this? They raped you?"

"Yes."

"So is that why you ran away, and decided to serve your king?" She nodded. She still didn't seem relieved even though she had already said everything. "There's something more, isn't there?"

She looked at him. "I was fourteen when I got here, and I was pregnant." She paused. Seto couldn't believe it. A fourteen year old getting pregnant. Last time he heard of a teenage pregnancy around the Domino campus was 16. "They wouldn't believe me, so they used Priestess Ishizu. She's a kind woman." She smiled at her name. "She confirmed of my pregnancy, and I told them that I'd give up my baby to His Majesty's Defense to let me serve him as a slave."

"Wait, your king right now?"

"No, His Majesty's father was the ruler when I first came,"

"So how old are you now?"

"35,"

"So your son is 21 years old…"

"Yeah," she nodded. "But I don't know which of the soldiers he is. I never saw him. I don't know who raised him."

Someone knocked down the door. "So it's true." The guard smirked. "You're coming with us," he grabbed Seto by his hair.

"H-hey!" Seto managed to say, and Neema went after him, but the guards slammed the door in her face.

"Kaiba! Kaiba!" Seto heard her voice fading.

* * *

Yami knew a good amount of healing techniques, as what Ishizu had taught him these past few days. And one of them was to relieve pains. It hurt to walk, but he could manage. He got in the tub full of warm water with soap and perfume, and said a little spell which made the water glow. "Mmmm…" he closed his eyes, feeling the pain slowly fade away and feeling the spell slowly work its way through his aching muscles and his spent insides.

He wondered what Seto might be doing. Maybe he was already asleep, and then he realized that he hadn't eaten dinner yet. He'll eat dinner after he finished this bath and healing session. He also thought that he won't be doing it again with Seto anytime soon. He had a country to run.

He had already spent around maybe half an hour before a voice broke the silence of his bathroom. "YOUR MAJESTY! YOUR MAJESTY!"

Yami snapped his eyes open. An unfamiliar voice ran through his ears. He quickly got out of tub, and felt that the spell did its work. He got a robe on, and proceeded to his room. "You're not allowed in there! His Majesty is resting! Shut your mouth!"

He opened his door. "Yes?"

"Your Majesty!" a white haired girl threw herself at his feet, crying.

"Do I know you?" he asked, "Stand up, I want to see your face,"

The girl did as he said. "Please, Your Majesty! I must talk with you!"

"Shut up slave!"

"No!" Yami stopped the guard from dragging her from him. "Stop! I'm not done with her!"

"Forgive us, Your Majesty," both of them kneeled.

"Yeah, whatever." He said, scowling at them. "A girl never did anything to you and you hurt you, you should be ashamed of yourselves," he took the girl's arm, pulled her in his room, and closed the door. "So, you need to talk?" he smiled.

She knelt quickly. "Your Majesty, your loved one, His Excellency, High Priest Seth knows of it. He's been taken to the throne room for you!"

Yami gasped. "He's got Seto?" he dressed up quickly, and instead of putting on only a tunic and his pencil skirt, and didn't forget his puzzle. "Come with me," he took her arm and ran out the room, ignoring the guards' calls.

When they got to the throne room, Seto was already on the floor, his back smeared in his own blood.

"Well, well, well," Seth spoke first. "Where have you been, Cousin?"

Yami didn't answer him and ran to the body on the floor. "Seto…gomen ne…" he cradled him on the floor. The water from the fountain outside the throne room came to him as he commanded, and said a spell. The water placed itself on Seto's back, beginning the healing.

Seto didn't respond, or move. Yami could hear his breathing, and it was disturbed. He was drenched in sweat, his hands were dirty with soil and dust, his tunic was torn and ragged, his hair was messy and a gold necklace hung around his neck.

"Who is the slave, Cousin, that you allowed him to touch you as if you were some slave yourself? Look at him, he is pale. He does not belong with us!" Seth asked. Clearly he was the one who was most angry. If Akunadin was here, his anger would overpower Seth's. "Answer me!"

Yami didn't answer him, and the puzzle started to envelop his frame with a black and purple entity. The priests stepped back. They knew better than getting the pharaoh angry. "You want to know who he is? Huh?" he said. "He's a friend. He was the one who kept me up. He was the one who made me who I am. He was the one I considered a rival, but I was wrong. For years he hid his knowledge of who I really was." He paused. "What about the colour of his skin? I've lived in a country where every single person I see has pale skin, and I've lived in a body with pale skin, and I can tell you that I'd rather live in a pale coloured body than in this tanned one."

"Lived in another country? For years?" Seth gave a mocking laugh. "You haven't left Egypt since you were born, Cousin!"

"Ishizu, look into my brain and let them see,"

And they've seen it all. But Yami didn't let them see this afternoon's events. "How could this commoner be of importance to you?!" Seth demanded. "And how could you control the monsters of the realm with ease?! Even those who are not of royal blood can do with them as they please!"

"Commoner?" Yami repeated. "He is no commoner." He stood up, putting Seto's arm over his shoulders. Seto was almost over 50 pounds heavier than he was. "From where Seto comes from, I rule as the Game King, a king who could defeat anyone in a game."

Mahaado, whom Yami believed was his Dark Magician, helped him carry the limp body. "I believe His Majesty needs assistance," he said, and the guards took Seto off of his back. He led Neema out of the throne room.

Yami's dark aura faded. "Seth," he faced him. "I love you and all…you're my cousin. You're older than me, I know. But sometimes, it's better to break the rules if I want to get what I want." He turned around. "Ishizu, call a healer. Rishido, have your staff calm the slaves in their rooms. Shimon, please come with me. Shada, please accompany His Excellency to his room." He left.

* * *

please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Seven: Beaten

* * *

This happens after Seto was taken away.

* * *

"Kaiba! Kaiba!" Seto could hear Neema's voice fade in the distance as he was dragged by the guards to their destination. "Let him go!"

"Where are you taking me?!" Seto demanded, jerking his hand so that the guard would let go, though that attempt was futile. The guard was bulkier than he was, and also a few centimeters taller. "I didn't do anything! Let me go!" he yelled, letting his sandaled feet scrape the stone floors so that they would have a harder time of dragging him.

"Look," said the guard, stopping in his steps. "We don't know why you're being sent to one of the empty rooms here in the palace, ok? All that was said to us by His Excellency Seth is to take you from your room, and present you to him. So keep your mouth shut before we get in trouble as well," he said as the other proceeded to cuffing Seto's hands.

"So I'm in trouble?!" _Shit,_ he thought. _Someone might have seen us in the garden, or it wasn't just Neema that saw me carrying Atemu to his room! _

"No one gets in trouble without doing anything. Priestess Ishizu confirms of it," said the other. "Look, we're sorry, ok? We're just doing what we're told,"

"Now, are you going to be a good pale skin and come with us or do we have to carry you over our shoulders?"

Seto didn't answer and continued walking. _This is so the end of my life. I should have known better. I should have known that there will be consequences like these. He is _king_ after all. _Seto didn't get to admire the beauty of a real Egyptian palace. _I mean, I should have thought this through before breaking in the damn palace and dressing up like a lowlife. Again, some billionaire I am, and some lover I turned out to be, not being able to keep a secret. I just know Atemu would get in trouble for this, too. _

"Hey,"

Seto snapped out. "Yeah?"

"Here we go," he opened the door, and a line of priests was what greeted him. The two guards presented him to them like an animal, throwing him to the floor. "The slave, Your Excellencies." They left.

Seto folded in his legs as if sitting on a pillow in a tea room back in Japan, his head down. He saw one approach him, and grab his hair, forcing him to look up at the priest. "Ugh." He managed to moan because of the painful pull on his hair.

It was his look alike. Seth. Seth hit him, making Seto's lip bleed and left Seto's cheek bruised. Seto lay on the cold stone floor coughing his hair covering his eyes, almost believing that he would have to lose a tooth. He thought he saw one of them approach, but was stopped by another. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!" he roared, and kicked him in the gut. Seto curled up in a fetal position, the chains making noise as he pulled his hands close to his chest. Seth grabbed his tunic by the neck, and forced Seto to looked at him again. "Answer me!" another punch to the face, and Seto was thrown to the ground again.

Seto heard a woman gasp as he hit the floor. "I don't…have to…answer to…you…" he replied. "You're not…the boss…of me…"

"Insolent fool!" Seth said angrily. "I asked you a question," Seth knelt by Seto's head, and held Seto's chin. "Focus your eyes on me!" he yelled. Seto looked at him. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't your priestess…know?" Seto asked. "They say…she knows everything. How come she doesn't…know my name?"

"Are you really testing my patience?" Seth growled.

"I'd rather die…than answer to you."

"Then die you shall." He took Seto by the tunic's neck again, and hit Seto's stomach with his knee, and then hit Seto on his face, making Seto cough up blood.

"Ra, Seth, stop!" Ishizu tried to get him away from the limp body on the floor.

Seto's face was severely bruised. There were blue and purple blotches on his cheeks, and he felt the other bruises on his torso form. He just knew he was bleeding inside from Seth's punches to his middle. Everything hurt, and he was sure that he had broken a few ribs because of the priest throwing him to the floor like some doll.

Seth pushed her away. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"His name is Kaiba. Kaiba Seto." Said Ishizu. "He's from Japan, a rich man, who has a brother he is raising, and who is in trouble at this very moment, worrying about his father figure."

Seth didn't speak for a moment. "And who are you to His Majesty?"

"I thought…I told you….that I won't answer…to a moody bitch…like you…"

Seth did not have a lot of patience. "Get a guard and a whip." Shada went out for a few moments, and went back with what Seth had ordered. "I want twenty lashes. I'll count."

One.

Seto screamed his tonsils out.

Two.

He writhed in pain.

Three.

Tears slowly ran down his face.

Four.

He decided to keep his mouth shut.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

His lip bled even more.

Eight.

Nine.

Seto couldn't help but scream.

Seth held up his hand, telling the guard to stop. "Have you had enough?" he asked, approaching the bleeding body. Seto's tunic was torn, and the whip left open wounds on his back. "Will you tell me what you are to His Majesty?"

Seto felt like he was slipping away. "N…no…"

Seth turned around, and moved to leave. "My last count was nine. Continue. Rishido. You supervise." Rishido gave a bow.

Ten.

Yami's smiling face flashed in his mind.

Eleven.

_I love you so much, Atemu. _

Twelve.

_But I don't think I'll be able to live after this…_

Thirteen.

_there would be…so much of my time not spent with you…_

Fourteen.

_so many words left unsaid…_

Fifteen.

_so many actions not done…

* * *

_

"_How_ can you be so cold?!"

Seth was quiet for a moment, and drank the wine in the goblet he held. "Be glad that I didn't have him raped."

Ishizu gasped, appalled. "_Raped_?! You have got to be out of your right mind, Seth! You're mad! I've seen Atemu's forefathers punish and judge his people, but you! You're just plain cruel! Wiked and vile!"

"And you?!" Seth put down the goblet. "Do you think that he can get away with this?! Do you?!"

"I do! And do you know why?!" she paused. "Because I am siding with Atemu on this!"

"You bitch." Seth hit her.

She looked at him. "You know you can never replace him in Atemu's heart!" said Ishizu. "He's already given himself to that man, and yet you continue to pour your hate for him for getting to Atemu first!"

Seth's eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me right!" she snapped. "He had offered himself to him just this afternoon! Do you honestly think that you can still make him change his mind?!" he was silent. "I thought so," Seth sat on his study chair behind his desk, and Ishizu approach him, giving him a reassuring embrace. "All you can do now is protect him of what is to come. You do know that the Dark Lord is about to be summoned, right?" again, Seth didn't answer.

Yes. It will just be a matter of time before the Lord of Darkness would come to rise.

* * *

Neema had managed to get the door open when the knob had broken and had the door stuck. No guards were outside, and she ran in the direction where the guards had taken Seto. "I've got to tell His Majesty…" she said and kept running. There were slaves talking to each other in a hidden hall, and stopped to ask. "Where have they…taken him?"

"Who?"

"The pale one,"

They bowed their heads. "We were in a hall near the room where he was taken."

"He was punished."

"And damn, did he have a punishment."

"What else did they do to him?" Neema demanded.

"I think Priest Seth beat him up."

"By the way things sounded in there, yeah,"

"What else?" she asked.

"We heard the cracks of whips."

"And his screams."

Neema was getting more and more worried by the second. "Did he do anything to make them stop?"

"He didn't make any pleads."

"At first we heard him resisting."

"But the guards didn't know anything about what was going to happen, so he obeyed."

"We don't know if any of the council members made Priest Seth stop."

Neema thought she was going to cry. "No…"

"He was nice, too. At least that's what we thought."

"He was quiet, and he preferred being alone, and he liked being in that big tree in the garden."

She had to know where he was now. "Where is he now?"

"Last thing we heard, he's being taken to the throne room to be presented to His Majesty."

* * *

please review.


	8. Chapter 8

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Eight: Argument

* * *

"Ishizu, keep him unconscious, please," Yami pleaded, hearing Seto moan as the healers slowly and gently lowered him into water in his tub. "He's suffered under Seth enough. I really don't know why he's the one who's most angry," he said, pulling up a chair, and sitting by tub, brushing Seto's matted down hair away from his face. "Is the spell working?"

Ishizu said another spell, a stronger one. "I do believe it is. The blood in the water is disappearing." She looked at the small king. "It will be alright, My King. I assure you, Seto will recover from his wounds. I used a strong spell, one we use with soldiers who are sometimes close to death, and they live." Ishizu assured him.

"Hey, Ishizu?"

"Yes?"

"Am I wrong for loving someone who is not of royal blood? Or one who is not Egyptian?" tears slowly fell down Yami's face.

Ishizu knelt before him, cupping his face. "Of course not, Your Majesty! No one can control these kinds of things! Follow your heart, Sire."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" she wiped his tears away. "Now, if you wish to be with this boy, do what you desire! Like what you said, if you had to break the rules to get what you want, you'd do it. That's exactly what you're doing right now, and I'm rooting for you!"

"I don't know why Seth's so mad at him. Maybe to him this is wrong?"

"It may be wrong to him, but it is right for you," she said as she stood up. "Now, stop crying, little one," she dried her tears away. "Seth's mad because he never knew you would fall in love so soon."

"But anyone can fall in love any time,"

"Exactly. Even though he's your cousin, he's been fascinated by you since you were children, and now that you two have grown, he wasn't expecting anyone to capture your heart like this boy has."

Yami first admired Seto's sleeping face. "It's because he's different. He isn't controlling like Seth is. The both of them might always get what they want, but Seth gets it by abusing his place, Seto gets what he wants with his own hard earned money," Ishizu didn't answer.

Silence.

"You know, he once swore to serving and protecting you until his death." She started. "But he also swore something that was not in the oath. That he'd do and give you anything you wanted, and to never hurt you."

"I have to talk to him," he moved to leave.

"Your Majesty-"

"Take care of Seto for me, Ishizu. I will come back," he left the room.

* * *

"I don't care if he told you to not let anyone in! I am your king and you also follow my orders!" Yami yelled at the soldier guarding Seth's chamber doors. "Seth is only my right hand. He is _not_ king yet!" he growled. "Now open the fucking doors!"

"Y-yes Your Majesty," he stammered, opening the doors.

"I thought I told you-" Seth, sitting on the edge of his bed, heard the door open. He looked at the figure at the door. It was his king, in tears, approaching him. "My Lord-"

Slap.

"How could you have done this to him?!" Yami cried. "How could you?!" he repeated. "He never did anything to you! Is it because that I love someone who is not Egyptian? Is it because I loved someone who is not royal?!" Yami demanded, tears streaming furiously down his face. "Or is it because that I never noticed you?!" Seth was silent. "TELL ME!"

Seth couldn't answer his questions. How could he have done it? It was because he couldn't accept it that Yami loved someone else. It wasn't because Seto wasn't tan. It wasn't because Seto wasn't a prince, a king or even a duke. Was it because Yami never noticed him? Maybe it was also because of that.

"I should hate you." He said. "I should hate you for what you've done! Did you even think about how much your actions would hurt me?! Did you?!"

Seth kept his head down. He could bring himself to lie. Ishizu would only tell Yami the truth. He couldn't deny anything. He wanted to. He really did. But he couldn't. It wasn't because Yami was pharaoh. Or that he was scared of what kind of punishment he would have to go through if Yami felt like it. He was scared of…Yami rejecting him. "Y-yes…"

"So you did know! Why the hell did you do it?! I ORDER YOU TO FUCKING TELL ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Slap.

Seth still didn't answer.

"Ishizu told me that you once swore an oath to serving and protecting me to death. But that was not the only thing you swore. That you'd do anything I told you and that you'd give me everything I wanted." It was the first time he cried so hard. It was difficult to breathe and speak, but he had so much to say. "I never asked you do anything that was too much. I don't even remember asking you something that is too much! Tell me, what was the very thing that I told you to do that hurt you?"

"You told me to shut up."

"Yeah, shut up. And what was the very thing that I asked you do give me that you never did?"

"A moment alone."

"EXACTLY! So you never really did give me everything I wanted! Even though I specifically told Mahaado that NONE of you follow me, still, you did." He paused. "And that other oath. You swore that you will never hurt me. Hurt me how, exactly, Seth? Physically? Mentally? Spiritually? _Emotionally_?"

There was a lot of silence on Seth's part. "I did it because I loved you." He finally said.

"You _loved_ me?!" Yami repeated. "Do you think that this proves how much you _love_ me?!"

"I thought he wanted to hurt you."

"_Hurt me_!" said Yami, appalled. "Do you think I'd let someone _touch_ me that way if they _wanted_ to _hurt_ me?!"

Seth now looked up. "How was I supposed to know?!"

"You could have asked me! You _should _have asked me! You _shouldn't _have done something so drastic! Do you think what you did solved anything?!" how Seth hated being lectured. For a moment there, he thought it was Akunadin nagging at him, but it wasn't.

"I didn't say that I loved you as a cousin. I love you more than that, and I couldn't accept that you fell in love with a commoner."

"For the last time, he is _not_ a commoner! I can tell you that from he comes from, he's a prince himself!" _A prince because you're king _he added in thought. "And you…" he held Seth's cheek. "You cannot love me more than you should." Yami stepped back. "I love him, Seth. And that's final." He walked away, Seth could only watch him. "And Seth," he said before he went out the door. "You are suspended. Mahaado will take charge of your troops. And in your suspension, I don't want to see your face."

It had happened. The very thing he was afraid of. Not the suspension. But the very thought of Yami rejecting him.

* * *

pleaser review.


	9. Chapter 9

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Nine: Name

* * *

"How is he?" Yami breathed out as he entered his bathroom, seeing Ishizu sitting on the tub sill, and Seto in the tub come into view. He heard Ishizu chanting, and he proceeded to sit on the chair he sat on before without asking another question.

He could see big dark blotches of purple and blue on Seto's chest and stomach areas, also on his legs.

"The open wounds on his back are closing up and healing but the bruises are something I can't heal yet, for they are yet to form," Ishizu answered, putting a few drops of clear liquid from a vial in the water.

"What's that?"

"It's some kind of disinfectant the crones gave me to clean the healing wounds on his back," she said. "It's something only the crones know how to make. I may be talented when it comes to medicine and healing, Your Majesty, but I am no match for the healers who have lived longer than I,"

Yami kept running his fingers gently through Seto's hair, admiring his pale face, the tears drying on his face. "Do you think pale skin would look nice on me?" he asked aloud, without even thinking.

A small smile graced Ishizu's face. "Of course it would, Your Majesty," _So he really does love him that much. _

Yami didn't have the stomach to be able to look at Seto's back when he was first brought to his room. Now, Seto was lying in a blob of water thickened with spells that helped in healing his back, so that his back wouldn't touch the solid gold tub. "Am I bad for suspending him?"

"If you think he deserved it, Your Majesty, then you're not bad," she said. "You're just doing what's right."

Seto moaned at Yami's touch, and the king suddenly stood up. "Ishizu!" She placed her hand over Seto's eyes, putting him back to sleep. Yami sighed a big sigh of relief. "It's hard keeping someone who doesn't like sleep sleeping," he sat back down again.

Ishizu chuckled. "Will you tell your priestess about this man, Your Majesty?"

Yami looked up at her. "Can't you look into our past? Wait, that didn't sound right. I mean, his past, or present. Or my future or…what did you ask again?"

Now, Ishizu let out a soft laugh. "You are so adorable, Your Majesty," she brushed his bangs away from his face. "Alright, if you have difficulty figuring out which time you want me to read, then I will read everything,"

Ishizu closed her eyes, and let the necklace do the work. She looked into Seto's not so very far past first.

"_Mokuba, why the hell do you want this party so much?" Seto asked the boy who was planning out the menu. "You don't even have a reason!" he slumped down on Mokuba's bed, pulling a pillow close to his chest, watching Mokuba scribble paper on the other side of the four poster bed. _

_He stopped writing. "I do too have a reason!" Mokuba sat up. _

"_And what might that be?" Seto had honestly no idea. _

_Mokuba grinned. "Because you are having a lover soon. That is so a reason to celebrate. For me, of course." _

"_You have got to be shitting me!" _

Ishizu chuckled. Yami raised a brow. "What the hell is she seeing?"

"_Am not pooping you! You don't know what it's like having a girlfriend-less or even boyfriend-less big brother, Seto. I've seen those girls and guys fall over for you, and die for you and still you don't notice them. Now that I know you've got a little sumthin-sumthin with that hot ass pharaoh, I'm going to PARTEY!" Mokuba lied down on his stomach again. He heard Seto grumble. "You think the guests will like Angus beef? Or Italian Risotto?" _

"_Just who exactly are you planning to invite?" Seto asked. _

"_You know, the guys. Yuugi, Jounouchi-"_

"_For Ra's sake, Mokuba, you think normal Japanese people eat steak or European food?!" _

"_So are you saying that I can have this party?" _

"_Yeah, but don't expect that I'll be in it," _

"That scene was very amusing, Your Majesty."

"What did you see?!"

"His brother is planning a surprise for you," she said, hoping that what she was about to reveal would make him smile.

"What kind of surprise?" Yami asked, glancing at Seto's sleeping form.

"A gathering for the celebration of your and his relationship."

"What?!"

She ignored his last word. "Your Majesty, his brother had mentioned you as a 'hot ass pharaoh.' What does that mean?"

Yami blushed a hundred shades of red. "O-oh…I didn't know he thought of me that way," he looked down. "Hot ass means I have a really, nice bottom,"

Ishizu now suppressed a really loud laugh. "Oh, Your Majesty! People in his time are such amusing people. Now, let me look into more of what's in his time,"

"_You can't give up Blue Eyes, Kaiba! We still have a lot of duels to-" _

_He was cut off by Seto who smashed his lips against his, and forcing his tongue inside Yami's mouth, and pushing him on back to the open books behind him. Seto didn't kiss him very long, and pulled away in a few moments, breathing hardly, staring at the smaller male under him. "Does that prove…how much…I want you to…get your own body…? And how far…I had gotten…that I'm willing to give up…Blue Eyes for you…?"_

_Yami cupped Seto's face, and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "You know, there was always something about you that…makes me…want to…get close to you…" Yami's forehead met Seto's. _

She squealed like a fangirl. "Sire! How romantic can he get!" she put her hands over her chest.

"Yeah…" he smiled, caressing Seto's face. "What time are you going to look at now?"

"His past,"

_Seto didn't know what book to read. He was in the small library near the orphanage, and he knew he wouldn't be able to choose that genre to read. He ran to a random section of the library, and a black, hardbound book caught his attention. The title was embossed in silver on the cover. _Soviet Short Stories, Edited and Translated by F. D. Reeve. _Seto looked at the back of the book. There were several Russian authors' names. _Mikhail Bulgakov_,_ Konstantin Pautovsky_, _Pantaleimon Romanov_, … _

"_What funny names," he said, taking it and signing the library card at the librarian's desk. "Thank you," he told the middle-aged woman and ran back to the orphanage. _

"_Hey, Seto, do you wanna play ball?" one of the girls together with two boys asked him as he entered the gates. _

"_No, thank you," he said politely, getting out of their way. _

"_You're such bore, Seto!" _

"_What do you get from reading those lame books!" some of the boys yelled as he headed for the door. _

_Seto grumbled. "So what if I don't like to play? It's not like I can get anything by playing ball. It's not like I can learn anything." He said particularly at nobody, headed for his and Mokuba's room upstairs. He took off his jacket and his scarf, and put it back in the closet. He sat down on his bed, found a comfy spot, and started reading the book. He didn't bother reading the foreword, nor the introduction, and proceeded to the first story. _

_Grackles_

_It was just growing light behind the Yegorlyk River as Yasha Konnik drove up to the cottage…_

_And then he felt silent steps entering the room. He had forgotten to close the door. "Who are you?" he asked the boy. _

Ishizu looked like she was having an asthma attack. "Your Majesty!"

"Ishizu! Are you ok? What happened?! What did you see?!"

"You…" her breathing was becoming even. "I saw you…in his past…"

"In his past?" Yami repeated, confused. "How can I be in his past-"

"I don't know…" she cut him off. "You don't remember?"

Yami shook his head. "No," he answered. "I'm sorry,"

Then it hit her. "So that was where you went…" she had remembered what had happened nine years ago in their time.

"What? Where I went? Where did I go?" Yami asked, looking up at her.

"Your father and grandfather had arranged a duel for practice in the great hall when you were young," she explained. "And you were watching. They didn't know what you were there, watching as they threw spells at each other. There Mahaado was there when it happened. The two of them cast spells which went all wrong and hit you,"

* * *

Seto opened his eyes, trying to focus his vision to clear it. He let out a moan as a wave of pain surged through his trunk. "Aahh.."

"Seto!"

He saw Yami's figure over him. "H-hey…" he managed to say as his vision cleared, seeing Yami's relieved face. "Aren't you even going to kiss me?"

Yami's hands were about to touch Seto's face, but he couldn't let himself touch him. "Oh, I want to…so much…" he said, trying to keep back the tears of joy, joy because Seto had finally woken up. "But you're face…it's covered in bruises, I don't want to hurt you-"

Seto grabbed Yami's neck with his bandaged hand, smashing his lips with his. He pulled away quickly. "Holy shit that really hurt!"

He gave Seto a teary laugh. "I told you. Does anything hurt? Maybe I know a spell that can heal it,"

Seto took a not so very deep breath. "It stings when I breathe," he winced as he exhaled, "I think it has something to do with my ribs. Is my chest bandaged?"

"Your chest is, but not the lower part, your stomach,"

"Is there a spell for bruises?" Seto asked

"I'm afraid not. They can only heal what is already there, like the wounds on your back. They can't heal anything that is just forming, like your bruises."

"Well that certainly is good fucking news." Seto rolled his eyes, and winced again. "Ra, I never knew breathing could hurt. Which reminds me, why doesn't my back hurt? I thought they hit me with a whip?"

"They've healed. Ishizu used a strong spell on you," Yami answered, taking the goblet of water on the table by the bed, and letting him drink.

Seto took a few gulps, his thirst quenched. "I can't wait to go back to 2009. Of course, I want to know if you'll be coming with me,"

"I haven't thought of anything yet," Yami admitted. "I don't want to cry anymore," still tears ran down his face, "but I'm so sorry, it's just that I don't know how this will work,"

"I still have Blue Eyes, you know," said Seto, making Yami look at him.

"For the last time, Seto! I'm not going to let you give them up!" he almost yelled. "I won't take it! No matter what happens! Besides, if I won't be able to come back with you, you'll be Duel King again, like before! Don't you want that?" Yami gently put his hand on Seto's cheek.

"Of course I don't!" Seto answered. "You think I wanted to become Duel King again because of all the tournaments I hosted? No!" he started to explain. "I spent all that money to get to you…so that you'd be impressed that I was capable of all those things. I don't think I was able to see your reaction to KaibaLand in America,"

Yami gave a teary chuckle. "I was in awe, Seto. Really, I was. And the hotel, it was magnificent,"

"Thank you. I had to hire the best to make that a five star hotel," he tried to sit up, and Yami assisted him by piling up the pillows behind his back. "So this is your room," he said, looking around. "Damn. I should draw this when we get back home,"

"Hey Seto,"

"Yeah?"

Yami didn't know why he called Seto's attention. "Nothing," he said, getting into the bed and sat beside Seto, careful not to touch any bruises.

A few moments of silence later, he could hear people running down the hall, and someone busted his door open. "Your Majesty!" it was Mahaado. "Bakura has an army, and is now attempting to summon the Dark Lord!"

"What?!" Yami got out of bed. "You stay here!" he told Seto. "Get fire and air together on side, and earth and water on another! Mahaado, you are coming with me. We're using Black Magic with the priests," he turned to Seto. "I love you," he kissed him, and left with Mahaado. (1)

* * *

"NO! Seto! Get back inside!" Yami yelled, seeing Seto having a hard time running to him. "It's not safe!"

"Your name!" Seto bellowed, Yami's eyes widened. "I can tell you now!"

"You will not!" Zorc roared and was about to make Seto fly back to the walls of the palace, but just had enough strength to keep him from doing it.

As he ran to Seto, he saw four dots in the sky. "Yuugi…" he whispered, and prevented Seto from hitting the floor.

"Atemu." Zorc roared once again. "Your name, is Atemu."

* * *

(1) Yami's talking about the spellcasters who control the elements. Yami controls water, because he's a Pisces.


	10. Chapter 10

Future Lover

* * *

So everybody knows that Yami/Atemu won when he found out his name, and now, we're where Yami lost to Yuugi in that ceremonial duel…or whatever. Because honestly, I do not know what happened in that duel. I only know what happened after that duel, where they were sad that Yami was already going away. Oh, btw, the last line of the last chapter, I have to explain that. It was Seto who told Yami his name. sorry about that. Zorc roared because he knew Yami would defeat him the moment he finds out his name.

* * *

Chapter Ten: Sacrifice

* * *

"I lost…" Yami whispered, going down on his knees. "Oh, Ra," he looked to Seto's direction. He and Mokuba weren't there. "Where is he?" he was panicking. He had completely forgotten about thinking about a way out of this because his concentration was all out on the duel. "No…"

"Yami?" Yuugi lifted Yami's chin so that he'd look at him. "The door is about to open, are you sure about this?" he asked. "I know that you've been thinking about it, and…well…you just didn't get to figure out how to stay…"

"I can't think of anything to give up…" said Yami, looking around, seeing his friends' faces happy that he could finally let go. But they didn't know anything. "You all are important to me…I can't let you…this is something-" he realized something. "I know what I can give up." He stood up and ran to where Seto was standing.

"What's he doing?" Anzu asked, watching him look for Seto.

"H-hey! The door!" Honda announced, pointing to the huge slab of rock moving.

"Yams! Where are you going?! The door's this way!" Jounouchi yelled, turning to run after him.

"Don't go after him." Yuugi grabbed Jounouchi's arm, preventing him from moving from his spot. "He's got something to tell his rival before he leaves."

* * *

Seto just sat there on what appeared to be a huge brick behind a wall. He didn't want to see the duel, no matter how important it was. He didn't want to know how the squirt was planning to win. He didn't want to know what strategy he was using to defeat those damn god cards. He didn't listen to the moves they were making, but blocked out all voices by thinking about how he was going to take Kaiba Corp to its zenith once again after everything that had happened, and about deciding if he should build another KaibaLand, only in Japan.

He winced. The wounds and bruises he had experienced in Yami's memories wasn't with him when he came back, but he couldn't help but think why it caused him a little stinging pain where the bruises used to be. "I think I'm going out of my mind,"

Mokuba looked up. "Hey, Niisama, are you?" then he remembered the gold dragon. "Almost forgot, I thought you might like this back." He fished around his pocket and gave Seto back his dragon.

"Thanks for agreeing to keep it Mokuba," said Seto, taking the gold chains from Mokuba's hands, then holding the small digits in his large ones as he put the necklace on. "Come here, baby brother," he said, pulling Mokuba close to him, and letting him sit on his thighs, Mokuba facing him. "It's been so long since I held you like this." he admired Mokuba's cute little face.

The boy threw his arms around Seto. "Please tell me he'll stay…please…"

"You shouldn't worry yourself about these things…" Seto whispered, allowing Mokuba to sob into his coat. "You're still too young to get into these stuff." He ran his hand through Mokuba's wild hair. "This is what mommies and daddies get into, ok?"

Mokuba let go and looked at him. "But I'm a smart little boy, aren't I? You said so yourself! So maybe I _can_ get into these! I want to help you!"

"No, no, no," Seto took his handkerchief from the inner pocket of his coat, and wiped Mokuba's tears away. "This is adult stuff, ok, and little boys like you, no matter how smart, are not allowed into this."

"But I want Yami to stay…bad…" Mokuba rested his head on Seto's chest, sniffing a few times. "What about that party?"

"Well, it's good that you haven't invited anyone yet," said Seto, rubbing circles on Mokuba's back to calm him down.

"But the food's already ordered. I've had Isono order all the food,"

"Then let's celebrate something else, like offering a toast because Yami had already gotten what he had been waiting for for years," but then it crossed his mind that they were like celebrating his death. "No, nevermind. Scratch what I said." He hugged Mokuba tighter, smelling the fruity scent of his hair, and kissing his forehead. "I love you so much, Mokuba, so much,"

Mokuba looked up at him. "More than Yami?"

"Of course," if Yami wasn't going to stay, then he should direct all his attention that was meant to be for Yami to Mokuba. "Mokuba, I want you to study hard, and be a good little boy for me when we go home, ok?" he realized he'd been talking like the father they never had.

"Okay…" Mokuba whispered his answer.

"Do you want to build another KaibaLand?"

A smile graced on Mokuba's face, and looked up and Seto once again. "Really?!"

"Well, after we get Kaiba Corp back up again, yes,"

"Yeah!" Seto chuckled, seeing Mokuba get so excited. "We should make it better than what's in America! Because Japan is home, right Seto?"

"I suppose so,"

"I wanna pick the rides!" he said, "Can we put in rapids, and super fast coasters and, and water rides," Mokuba kept going, and going.

"Okay, okay, alright, you better list those down when we get back,"

"Awesome!"

"Seto!" Seto looked around, Mokuba did, too. Then Yami appeared. "Seto…"

"Did you win?" Seto asked, putting Mokuba down as he stood up.

Yami hesitated to answer, but there was no point in hiding it. "N-no…"

Seto was silent, Mokuba held on to his hand. "I…I see…" Seto lowered his head. He heard Mokuba whisper 'Niisama.'

"But I'll come back."

"What?"

"You will?!" Mokuba ran to him. "You will?!"

"But I don't know how, but I know what to give up." He pat Mokuba's head, and approached Seto. "I told you…that I will find a way, and I did. I just don't know how I will come back, but I know what to give up, so don't lose hope, ok?"

Seto bent over a little and kissed him. Mokuba knew better, and turned around. Yami pulled away. "The Dragon will always protect you,"

They followed him back to what Seto could tell was a stage, and watched Yami say goodbye to the others, and talking to Yuugi last, hearing him say that he will always be looking down, on them, watching. Yami took one last look at the people who took care of him, and before he entered the afterlife, he looked at Seto and mouthed 'I love you.'

* * *

please review.


	11. Chapter 11

Future Lover

* * *

Hey, um…sorry for interrupting your reading. I don't know if Grandpa was with them in the duel. I've forgotten, so I'm sorry if grandpa isn't here if he really is supposed to be. I'm really sorry if anyone's missing!! *bows* and if I'm doing it wrong. Did they take a flight back to Japan? I hope you stick with me to the end. And it really is about to end.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Sphere

* * *

There was a knock on Yuugi's cabin door. "Hey Jou, can you open that for me please," said Yuugi, not moving from his lying position on the bed, facing the wall. Honda, Anzu and Ryou looked worried. Yuugi hadn't really been talking since Yami walked into the afterlife. He said that he'd come back, but Yuugi wasn't used to being alone, even if he was the only one in the room, because all that while he had someone with him.

"Yeah?" Jou opened the door. It was Isono. "Hey, Isono,"

"Seto-sama wants his guests to please freshen up for dinner," he said, "May I?"

Jou hadn't let him in yet. "Oh, sorry," he let him in. "So Kaiba wants us to _what_?" Yuugi sat up, looking at Isono. "And in an airplane?!"

Around three of Seto's men in suits entered the room with boxes of all shapes and sizes in various colours, and shoeboxes and shopping bags with almost every 'holy shit that's expensive' brand known on the planet. "_Whoa_." They chorused.

"Yes, yes," said Isono as the men went out the cabin. "There are bathrooms in all your cabins, sirs and madams. The Master wants all of you to change into these clothes and shoes. They are more appropriate that what you are wearing now," he pointed out. They were filthy.

Anzu started to rummage through the clothes. "Holy shit…" she said, "Everything's here! Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Versace…all I can say is holy shit! These are…are…"

"Seto-sama prefers branded items, Ms Mazaki-"

"No shit." She interrupted. "If I was the richest woman in Japan I would, too,"

"-there are a lot of clothes you can choose from. I shall be back to inform you of the call time, good evening," he continued and then he left.

"What time exactly is it?" Jou asked as Ryo und Honda joined him in looking for clothes.

"Jou, all you need to do is look outside the window," said Yuugi, glancing at the window at the head of the bed. "It's pitch black, so it really is time for dinner,"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, picking a pair of loose jeans, the coolest shirt he had ever seen, and a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey, I'll go shower in my cabin first. I'll come back in a few,"

"Jou, don't come back in a few. Scrub everything like hell first before you come back," said Anzu, finding a pair of snake sandals. "Oohh, I love this!"

"She's right, Jou, we smell like shit, you know?" said Honda, taking what he liked. Jou rolled his eyes and left. "Come on, Ryou, let's let Yuugi pick now. Anzu will still be picking when Isono comes back to fetch us for dinner," he laughed; Ryou went after him and closed the door.

Anzu put her clothes on the sofa and sat beside Yuugi. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I am," answered Yuugi. "I guess I'm just not used to him not being around. Maybe I'm just lonely," he gave a small smile at her.

"Pick out your clothes, the others and I will be back, ok?" she assured. She grabbed her clothes and went out, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Isono came back two hours later, when he was sure that every single one of Yuugi's friends including him had already finished freshening up. "This way please," he said, leading them upstairs. "By the way, Seto-sama wants all of you to know that the clothes you are wearing now are yours."

"What?!" Jou was the first to react.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Honda added.

"Is a nice Kaiba normal?" Anzu asked particularly at no one.

"Well, I guess that this is new," Ryou piped in.

"Guys, don't complain. A kind Kaiba is hard to come across, so just accept the clothes. I'm sure that what he spent for these is only a penny for him." Said Yuugi, looking at what he was wearing, thinking that Yami would have liked the clothes he had chosen. Yami was the type who'd gone for tight jeans and sleeveless shirts, but he knew he looked damn good in casual clothes. Yuugi had picked some loose fit jeans, the nicest basketball shoes in the shoes Seto had bought, a black long sleeved shirt, and a red collared shirt, leaving the buttons open.

"Seto-sama usually seems indifferent to you, and he is, but that all disappears with he's with his brother. And also, he and Mokuba-sama will not be joining your for dinner. The both of them had decided to stay up in their cabins,"

"Why?" Ryou asked. "He's the one who had us dress up, isn't he?"

"Can you please tell him that we want to eat with him?" Anzu asked

"Who said we wanted to?!" Jou didn't agree with Anzu. "Just because he gave you those clothes-"

"It's _not_ that, Jounouchi Katsuya." Anzu gave him a glare. "He's been really kind to us. He's given us a ride back home, and clothes to change into. So the least we could do is do as he says and tell him that we're grateful, alright?"

Jou was silent.

"I'll tell him that, Ms Mazaki," Isono led them to a part of the plane where it seemed to be a bar and a party place. But it was where they were to eat dinner. "Please wait here. If you wish to have drinks, please feel free to order something from the bar. I shall be back in a while," he said, and left.

"Do you think he'll come?" Ryou asked.

"Look, I don't know about you guys, but I don't care," said Jou, going to the bar. "Do you have beer?"

"For Ra's sake, Jou! You're in an Airbus A380 with Kaiba! Don't you think Kaiba will drink something that low?" Anzu sat on the stool beside him. "A margarita please," she told the bartender. "Say, you're cute," she said, watching the bartender make the margarita.

"Thanks," said the bartender, not really liking that Anzu was flirting with him.

Jou rolled his eyes. "Stop being a fucking flirt. You flirt around Yuugi too much already," he said. Yuugi blushed at the remark. "Can I just get a shot of brandy?" he asked the bartender, and he served Jou his shot as soon as he finished with Anzu's margarita.

"Aren't you going to drink something?" Anzu spun the stool around.

Honda sat beside Anzu, and Ryou sat beside Honda. "Budweiser please," said Honda. "What are you having?" he asked Ryou.

"I think I'll try the martini," he nodded to the bartender. "What are you going to have, Yuugi?"

"No, I don't want any," said Yuugi, shaking his head.

"Excuse me, sirs and madam, Isono-san has just instructed me to seat you in the dining area," said the bartender, walking them to the long table a few more steps below. "I believe Seto-sama will be dining with you tonight,"

"Whoa, he'll come?" said Ryou, watching the bartender pull a seat for Anzu. "I didn't think he will,"

"Whether he comes or not, we'll be able to eat," Jou sat down quickly beside Yuugi.

"I was wondering, everyone under Kaiba – not us, mind you – or people who work for him call him Seto," said Honda, turning to the bartender. "Why do you call him Seto?" he asked him.

"We do as we're told, sir," he answered, then said, "I believe that you will be preferring Japanese cuisine over European or Mediterranean cuisine, so the chefs will be serving miso for soup, tuna, salmon and squid for appetizers, and yakitori, yakiniku, and ebi for the main course with a side dish of yasai itame and steamed vegetables. Will any of you be requesting for ramen or cold noodles, or gyuudon?" (1)

_So Kaiba told you to call him Seto? _Yuugi thought. "N-no thank you, that will be enough," Yuugi said nervously. That was an awful lot of food. "Um, may I ask, if we're having yakiniku and yakitori, where is the griller?"

"The grilling will be done in the kitchen. Seto-sama doesn't want his aircraft to smell like coal and yakiniku sauce,"

"Oh,"

"The Master will be here momentarily,"

And just like he said, Seto did arrive a few moments later with Mokuba. All of them, including Yuugi, thought that he and Mokuba would show up in their usual getup: the white trench coat and the yellow, high collar vest. But they didn't. Mokuba wore a black hoodie and jeans, and Seto wore what looked like a blue violet long sleeved collared shirt and black slacks. For the first time, they thought the Kaiba brothers looked…like normal teens, just like them. The only difference was that clothes loved being on them, not the other way around and that they were filthy rich.

"Konbanwa, Seto-sama, Mokuba-sama," almost all of them gasped, startled, hearing the servants greet him as he went down the stairs and sat at the capital of the table.

"What did you prepare?" Seto asked as he sat down, and Mokuba sat to his right. He glanced at Yuugi who sat at his left.

"Japanese cuisine, Seto-sama, and the soup and appetizers will arrive in a moment,"

Seto gave a nod. "Get me the menu for drinks,"

There was silence as Seto browsed through the drinks, until Yuugi decided to break it. "Hey, Kaiba, thanks for taking us home, and for the clothes, and for the food,"

Seto didn't look at him. "Did he say when?"

Only the two of them knew what they were talking about. Anzu, Honda, Jou and Ryou were exchanging confused glances. "No. He also wasn't sure how he's going to do it."

"Did he tell you what he was willing to give up?" Seto gave the menu back to the servant behind him. "Give all of them coke, and I'll just have a bottle of water. I'm not in the mood for anything." He whispered to him, and the servant left.

"He didn't either. He didn't tell me anything." Yuugi lowered his head.

Seto didn't say anything after that. Dinner was okay. Jou was civil enough, and didn't say any rude comments. All of them found the food more delicious than what they were used to back in home, and they didn't expect Seto to eat what they ate. Maybe they just looked at him as one of those spoiled brats, but he wasn't. Of course, they didn't Seto liked having Japanese food. They always thought he preferred having Italian, or French. But he did like French. His favourite dish, (his chefs were the only ones who knew this) was French Beef.

"Hey Kaifa, I gotta amit," said Jou, swallowing the rice and mean he had in his mouth. "This is awesome!"

Mokuba giggled. "Thanks, Jou, but you shouldn't really talk with your mouth full, it makes you look uncivilized." The rest of them laughed, including Yuugi, but Seto didn't, and continued eating, not saying anything.

"Yeah, I've never eaten anything this good, and to think this is Japanese!" said Honda, then he drank his coke. "I don't think I'll be able to forget this!"

"Excuse me," Seto stood up, and left his napkin on his seat.

"Something you said?" Anzu raised his brow at Jou and Honda.

"No, it wasn't something you said." Said Mokuba, wiping his mouth and standing up. "I know what it is. If you still want to eat, tell the servants what you want. I'll take care of it. Feel at home in your cabins." He ran after Seto.

The five of them went up to their rooms around an hour later, tired, and sleepy. Even though Yuugi could die of sleepiness, if that was possible, he still couldn't sleep. Maybe because he knew the room in the other side of his brain was empty, and gone. After half an hour of staring up at the ceiling, Yugi finally slept.

* * *

"Hey, Yuug, Isono said it's time for breakfast,"

Yuugi rubbed his eyes and sat up. "We're not in japan yet?" he asked sleepily.

"No," answered Jou. "Turns out a flight from Egypt to Japan is over a day. Approximately 27 hours. And it also turns out you're the most exhausted from all of us. You didn't wake up when the plane landed for refueling, did you?"

Yuugi shook his head. "We refueled?"

"Yep. Didn't know where, so I went back to sleep as soon as the plane landed, woke up when the plane took off, and slept when we reached flying altitude," Jou stood up. "Now, gargle and wash your face. We're going down for breakfast. Kaiba's not joining us. He's been in his room since last night, and Mokuba says he's been preparing Kaiba Corp for his return,"

"I see." Yuugi headed for the bathroom, and Jou left the room.

Already knowing his way through the huge plane, he proceeded to the dining area as soon as he changed into a new shirt. Everybody was already there, eating. Mokuba had just finished. "Ohayou, Yuugi," he said, going up the stairs to meet him. "I'll be in the cockpit if you need me,"

Jou almost chocked on the piece of tamagoyaki. "Cockpit?!" (2)

"Yeah. I'll just talk to the captain. I'll go back to my room after." Mokuba ran up.

"So how long till we land?" Honda asked.

"I'm guessing tonight." Yuugi sat down. "Do you think he has a library here somewhere?" Yuugi asked as he took the cup of rice from Ryou. "Thanks,"

"Maybe," said Anzu. "Ask Isono, I think he's memorized the blueprint of this thing,"

Yuugi did ask Isono if the plane had a library, and it did. He had gone to read something about ancient Egyptians' beliefs. It had said that the ancients really did have the ability to perform black magic, and to control the elements around them by magic depending on their zodiac. Yuugi took another book, and found that Yami was able to call on the forces of water. He also found out that black magic used for personal gain will cause the spell caster to receive terrible loss. It wasn't indicated how terrible it was, only saying that the most of spell casters who used it disappeared, or committed suicide, and other ghastly things happen to them.

Yuugi's eye widened as he read through.

_The ancient Egyptians believed that their souls can be reincarnated. But their reincarnation is based on the good they had done in the previous life. _

"So that's why I'm me…I'm the good Yami had done in the past…he was so selfless that he was allowed to become human again."

* * *

_This is your captain speaking. _

Yuugi was in his room, reading the book he took from the library. He looked up at the speaker. Anzu was at the spa, and the manicurist had just finished doing nail art on her hands. She looked up at the speakers. Honda was at the bar with Jou, talking with the bartender and drinking non-alcoholic drinks; they put down the glasses they held. Ryou was at the lounge, reading a magazine, drinking ocha. (3) Seto was working, and Mokuba was asleep.

_We have entered Japanese territory. We will land in Domino International Airport in a few minutes. Please proceed to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. _

"Will you look at that. We're home," said Jou, then he turned to the bartender. "It's been nice talking to you,"

"Maybe we can see you the next time we get to go back to Egypt to save a pharaoh," Honda laughed as they got off the stool, waving goodbye.

Anzu couldn't stop thanking the manicurist for what she's done with her nails, but she finally left the spa. Ryou closed the magazine, and drank the last of the ocha. Seto closed his laptop, at lied beside Mokuba, pulling him close.

As the plane touched the ground, Mokuba moaned, but Seto shushed, putting the back to sleep again. When the plane came to a complete stop, Seto stood up at carried Mokuba, careful not to wake him up, putting his head on his shoulder. Isono entered their room, and he took Seto's documents and laptop.

Seto met Yuugi and his friends near the door. "There will be cars waiting for you outside the plane. They will call your attention and take you home." He said, and exited the plane first.

News reporters, cameramen, magazine columnists and flashes was what welcomed them to Japan. Seto was bombarded with a million questions, flooding his ears with noise, and blinding his eyes with flashes. He held Mokuba's head close to him.

"Niisama…"

"Ssshhh, Mokuba, don't move. We're back in Japan," he said, noticing that men in black were already taking the others and getting them in Kaiba Corp's company cars. Isono led him through the swarm of reporters, and got him in the limo.

"Seto-sama, the servants request that I take you home as fast as I can," said the driver. "There's something in your room, and they don't know what it is,"

"Then get me home! That thing might hurt us!"

* * *

Seto didn't let Isono take Mokuba from his arms and got out of the car as soon as the limo was parked in front of the mansion. He walked as fast as he could with Isono behind him, and kicked his door open. There was a light blue, glowing, floating sphere in his room. He set Mokuba down on his bed, causing Mokuba to wake up. "Nii…sama…" he moaned.

"What in the world is this…" he stared at it. It was huge. Seto felt like he could get two obese kids in there. "Isono, call Yuugi,"

"H-hai." Isono grabbed his phone and dialed the number of Yuugi's driver. "Get Mr Mutou to the mansion. Seto-sama needs him."

"Niisama, when did you buy a disco ball that big?"

"It's not a disco ball, Mokuba,"

"What is it?"

"Yuugi will tell us."

* * *

(1) Tuna, salmon and squid – sashimi, or raw fish and seafood.

Yakitori – grilled chicken.

Yakiniku – grilled pork and beef. Yaki means grilled, niku means meat, and tori means chicken.

Ebi – prawn. What we know as tempura.

Yasai itame –

Ramen – we all know what this is

Cold noodles – kinda like green pasta, served cold. My dad says he eats this cold noodles when it's summer back in Japan.

Gyuudon – I think this is kinda like yakiniku, only the beef (gyuu) isn't grilled, and it's with sesame seeds and egg. ^_^

(2) Tamagoyaki – fried egg. Tamago means egg.

(3) Ocha –I couldn't resist. Ocha means tea. xD

* * *

please review.


	12. Chapter 12

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Plan

* * *

"What is it?"

"I don't know, Kaiba." Said Yuugi, approaching the sphere. "You think because I've been with a reincarnated, black magic using, 3018 year old pharaoh, that I've seen everything that's impossible in this world," he held up his hand, about to touch it.

"No, don't touch it-" but Yuugi touched it. Seto was about to grab his body away from it.

Yuugi stopped in his steps and looked at Seto. "Why?"

"Because we don't know what's going to happen if we touch it." he Yuugi from the sphere and almost throwing him onto the bed. "If you get electrified here in my room, in my house, in my estate, what face do you think I can present to your grandfather if you die?" he said, "Look, we don't know what this is, and frankly, I'm willing to wait until it changes into something-" and softer, "-safer to touch…or whatever…"

Yuugi watched Seto start to pace. "I-I'm sorry…" he lowered his head.

"Hey, Niisama, can you tuck me in now?" Seto looked up. Mokuba stood at the door in light green pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

"Yuugi, stay here, and don't touch the fucking sphere. Got it?" he told him. Mokuba entered the room.

"Can I sleep with you?" Mokuba asked as Seto lifted him by his arms. "Niisama?"

"The question is, can I sleep in your room tonight, Mokie?" Seto entered the room next to his, a few yards away. He put Mokuba down on the bed and pulled the sheets up to Mokuba's chest. He nodded. "I'll come to bed soon, okay? Just sleep, you need it."

"But you need it, too,"

"Yeah," Seto smiled at him, and kissed Mokuba's forehead. "Oyasumi, otouto," (1)

"Oyasumi, Niisama," Seto stood up and walked over to the light switch by the door. "Daisuki," (2)

"Daisuki," he turned off the lights and went back to his room. "Did you touch it?"

"Do I look like I moved?" Yuugi answered.

"I'll tap into security cams later," Seto sat beside Yuugi and sighed. Yuugi rolled his eyes. "I'm so sick of this magic stuff. I have never experienced this shit until I dueled you."

"So you're saying that we should never have dueled?"

"No. If we didn't I would have realized that Yami inhabited your body."

Yuugi was silent, and then said, "You know, you're right. This magic thing has got to stop. But seriously, not that I'm sick of it or anything, but we have experienced too much magic than a magician does in a lifetime," he stared at the glowing ball before them. "I think I should go to college and preoccupy myself, and not base my life on duel monsters. And you should focus on Kaiba Corp."

"You didn't have to tell me that. Come on," Seto stood up. "Isono will get you home. I'll call you when something happens."

After he had Yuugi got home, Seto went back to his room, where the sphere had chosen to reside for the rest of its existence. The question was, how long was its existence going to be? Even Yuugi didn't know what it was. He did tap into the security cams, and Yuugi didn't touch it.

He got in the tub filled with warm water and it started to calm his nerves. Maybe he should skip Kaiba Corp tomorrow and just do work at home, that way he wouldn't get angry when he sees the faces of his employees. Besides, he still had that virtual reality game to fix, innovate, introduce, advertise, distribute and sell. He groaned as he stretched under the now colour blue water, blue from the soap.

Seto sighed. Was that sphere a part of Yami's return? If so, then why wasn't there any clue or sign of it being a piece of the course of this spell? Was that sphere already the spell that Yami had used?

Why hadn't Yami contacted Yuugi? Wait. Could he do that after actually dying? He really didn't die when he was sealed in the puzzle, so he was still partially alive, only in soul and spirit, and was still in the world of the living. He had heard of ghosts, but Yami wasn't really the type of person who would haunt someone. But now that he had thought of it, Yami had shared a body with Yuugi for a long time, and the first person he would contact if he wanted to talk to any of them was Yuugi. Of course, he didn't really have the heart to ask Yuugi to play the Ouija with him. Not like Ouija is really true. Besides, he also thought that Yami wouldn't want that.

Half an hour later, he got out of the tub, dressed in blue pajama bottoms and a semi-fit white shirt. He took one last look at the shining, floating ball in his room before proceeding to Mokuba's room. Mokuba shifted as Seto got into the boy's bed.

"Niisama…" he moaned, pushing himself sleepily into Seto's arms.

"Go back to sleep, Mokie," Seto whispered, letting Mokuba set his head on his chest as he pulled up the sheets. 'I should just wait,' he thought. 'I really need sleep and rest right now.' He looked at the sleeping form curled up on his chest. He kissed Mokuba's head, and closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep.

* * *

One week later.

Seto had once again found Mokuba lying on his stomach in his bed, drawing pictures of the blue sphere. "What are you doing, Mokuba?"

"Copying the ball," he answered, taking a one shade of blue from the numerous different blue shaded colour pencils scattered on Seto's bed.

"Why not just take a photo of it with your camera phone?" Seto moved to sit down beside him.

"It broke. Besides, I wanna draw like you do," said Mokuba, taking another blue.

"It _broke_?" Seto repeated.

Mokuba looked at him. "Yeah. I forgot that it was on my lap, and it fell when I stepped out the limo." He explained. "The LCD cracked and camera sucks. Sorry Seto."

Seto sighed and stood up. "I'm going to work. I'll buy you another phone when I get back." He grabbed his suitcase that rested on the sofa in the 'living room' part of his room.

"Really?" Mokuba sat up.

"Yeah. I'll get you the one that doesn't break. And Mokuba, pick up your art materials after you're done vandalizing my bed." He said, and left Mokuba in his room.

"Daisukiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!" Mokuba yelled.

"Daisuki!" Seto yelled back.

Mokuba turned back to drawing, glancing a load of times at the ball then back to the paper. He looked at the clock on Setos desk, it was already noon. Seto never went to work that late. A few moments later, a maid knocked on Seto's open door.

"Mokuba-sama, it's time for you lunch." Mokuba smiled at her. "May I enter?" she asked, Mokuba nodded. She started to pick up Mokuba's materials. "Come now, Mokuba-sama, we've got your favourite for dessert,"

"You better not be lying to me!" said Mokuba.

"Of course not, Seto-sama always tells us to give what you want, but not always, for too much of a good thing is bad," she touched his nose with her finger. "Ok?"

"Kay, let's go." He hopped off the bed headed for the dining room.

He really did get the parfait, and got back to drawing. He jumped on Seto's bed, ruining the sheets, and continued on sketching the blue ball. Then he had noticed something about it the past few days. He stopped drawing, and stared at it. It had been clearing. It was as if the fog inside the ball was clearing away. Seto had specifically told him not to touch it, and he wasn't going to. He just wanted to see what was in it, since it was already clearing up. He stood before it, and recognized the forming figure immediately.

"ISONO!" Mokuba yelled as he ran down the marble stairs. A maid came to him. "Did Niisama take Isono with him?" he asked urgently.

"No. Seto-sama had taken one of his cars," she informed him. "Isono-san is in the employees' lounge,"

"Thank you." Mokuba ran out the backdoor of the kitchen, and headed for the two floor story house Seto had given to his employees for their day-offs. "Isono! Isono!" he banged on the door, calling for one of their most trusted servants.

The door opened, and to Isono it revealed his panting master. "Mokuba-sama! Doushita no?" (3)

"I have to get to Niisama! I have to tell him something! And don't ask where my phone is, it's broken," he said a little too fast.

"I'll go get my tie," Isono ran back into the house and grabbed his tie. "Come on,"

* * *

"Seto-sama!"

"Niisama!"

"Mokuba?" Seto looked up at the two people who barged into his office running towards him. "What is it?"

"I saw something in the ball!"

* * *

"Ok, now we know that this is part of Yami's plan," said Seto, standing in front of the ball. "And there's a infant Yami in there," Seto peeked in again, and stepped back, unable to believe what he had just saw. "That is _not_ an infant."

"What do you mean it's not a baby? Mokuba said he saw-"

"It's a baby, ok?" Seto cut Yuugi off. "But _that's_ not an infant. Mokuba knows what a baby looks like, Yuugi, but he doesn't know what a newborn looks like; I do. Newborns don't immediately have a layer of fat under their skin when they're born. They only gain more weight when feed off their mother. And that," he pointed to the sphere."_That's _ a toddler."

"A toddler?" Yuugi repeated as he stood up, taking a glimpse inside the ball. "That's gotta be like two years old!"

"I know. Babies as big as two year olds don't get pushed out of women," said Seto, he shook his head. "Ra, I get pulled out of work for a baby."

"If he gets out in that state your doomed." said Yuugi, imagining a baby Yami running around Seto's house as he sat back down on Seto's bed. "You'd have a former Egyptian Pharaoh drooling all over your shirt and throwing mashed bananas at you."

Seto cringed. "Oh, hell no," he shook his head. "Please don't come out just yet." He said to the ball. "I don't want to raise another kid, not right now, I've still got one," Yuugi chuckled. Seto turned to him. "You try raising a hyperactive kid who could hack into any computer system possibly in the world,"

"At least he's sweet," said Yuugi. "Almost makes me think that I want a brother," he admitted. "Okay, I'll take your dare,"

"What dare?"

"I'll babysit Mokuba for the rest of the summer, and I'll try to get out of it _alive_, kay?" Seto knew there was something suspicious behind that smile.

"What do you want in return for your services?" Seto asked, crossing his arms, looking at the boy sitting on his bed.

"How much do I get paid?"

"You're forward, aren't you?" Seto grinned at his question. Yuugi smiled. "¥250,000 a week," (4)

His eyes widened at the amount of money. "Whoa."

"Don't complain. I pay big for my brother's safety. You start tomorrow, 7am, and you leave at 7pm, got it?" he ended the subject. Yuugi nodded thinking, 'Piece of cake.' "We know that there's a child in there, and that it's growing fast. We think that Yami's two years old, right? So if he's two years old, then he must have started as an embryo like everybody else,"

"Growth rate," said Yuugi. "We could find out how fast he grows."

"Yeah, but we don't have-" Seto became quiet.

"Have a what?" Yuugi asked, watching Seto start to pace. "Have a what?!"

Seto ignored him, then said, "3.5 months…"

"We don't have 3 months?" said Yuugi, confused.

"No!" Seto answered, "I meant if he was already two years old in a span of a week, it means he's growing 3.5 months every day. 24.5 months a week, two years!" he turned to Yuugi. "You said he was 18, right? Then that means this will last for-"

"Only eight more weeks," Yuugi finished.

"Exactly."

* * *

(1) "Oyasumi, otouto," means "Good night, little brother,"

(2) "Daisuki," means "I love you," it literally means, "I really like you,"

(3) "Doushita no?" means "What's the matter?"

(4) That's like US$2,600. 250,000 yen is a normal man's monthly salary in Japan.

* * *

Sorry for the slow update. i really thought hard about what to write for this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter 13: Course

* * *

**Week 2; Monday: 6:30am**

When Yuugi had arrived at the mansion, Seto was having his breakfast and reading the day's paper. It was only the second time Yuugi had seen him eat. He was in summer clothes when he got to the mansion, and Seto didn't seem to like his attire. "Yuugi, you're here," said Seto, seeing Yuugi enter the dining hall.

"Is it ok that I got here this early, Kaiba-kun?" Yuugi asked, walking up to Seto.

"Okay, first of all, since you work for me now, you call me 'Seto-sama,' and call Mokuba 'Mokuba-sama,'" playing with Yuugi might be fun. "Just like every other servant,"

"You have got to be kidding me," Yuugi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're serious?!"

"I'm serious. I'll ask random maids how you have been referring to me and my brother," Seto replied. "Your suit is with Isono-"

"Suit?!"

"Yes, what were you expecting? That you'd wear your summer clothes while looking after my brother, I think not," he said, "And don't worry, the mansion is centralized. It won't be very hot," Seto continued. "Now, dress up, Mokuba will be awake in fifteen minutes,"

"Hai,"

"Hai, nani?"

YUugi forced it out of his mouth. "Hai, Seto-sama,"

"Good, good." Said Seto, amused. "Mikoto over there will show you where Isono is, he'll tell you everything you need to know," Seto watched him go to the maid behind him, and the two of them disappeared, leaving Seto to finish his breakfast.

Even though it was Kaiba Mokuba's summer holiday, he liked sleeping early and waking up early. Why? Because he wanted to say goodbye to Seto before he left for work. Mokuba's alarm sounded off at exactly 7am. He got out of bed and washed his face and gargled before taking his robe and proceeding downstairs for breakfast. He was greeted good morning by a handful of servants he met on the way to the dining hall.

He saw Seto stand up as the doors to the hall were opened. "Ohayou, Niisama,"

Seto took his suitcase from the maid who handed it him. "Ohayou, Mokuba," he said, taking one of his car keys he left on the table by his coffee. "I'll be going now,"

"Oh," said Mokuba as he moved to sit right of the capital seat, but before he sat down, he pecked Seto on the cheek. "Bye bye, big brother. I guess I'm kinda a useless vice president, haha,"

"You spend your summer holiday like a normal boy, Mokuba," said Seto, "You'll have a new babysitter-slash-personal servant for this summer."

"I will?" said Mokuba, looking up at him as a maid put down pancakes in front of him. "Who?"

"Yuugi,"

"Yuugi?"

"Yes, and Mokuba," he said, "I want you to be a good boy for Yuugi, ok?" Seto winked.

A huge smile graced Mokuba's face. "Un!" he knew exactly what to do.

"But don't push it, kay?" Seto chuckled, and kissed Mokuba on the forehead. "I'll buy you a phone this afternoon, bye,"

Mokuba watched him walk away. "Daisuki!"

"Daisuki!" Seto exited the hall.

"This is going to be one fun summer," he started eating his pancakes, and at the corner of his eye, he saw someone familiar enter. "Ohayou, Yuugi,"

"O-ohayou gozaimasu, M-Mokuba-sama," Yuugi greeted him. It was going to be a long time before he was going to get used to calling them as his masters. And when he gets used to it, it was still going to be a long time before he could stop calling them 'master.'

"Cool! You get a suit, too! Awesome!" Mokuba finished his glass of milk. "Come on!" he hopped off the seat and ran out of the dining hall, leaving his breakfast half eaten.

"A-aren't you going to-" Yuugi didn't finish his question and went after him.

Yuugi later found out that he had to prepare Mokuba's bath, and help him pick out his clothes. While Mokuba was in the bathroom, he had to fix Mokuba's bed, and clean up the few toys scattered on the floor, and put away the art materials that were all over the living room part of Mokuba's room. He had to fix the wires of Mokuba's consoles that looked like spaghetti, and pick up the CD games and DVDs.

'How the hell can these butlers work wearing suit?!' he thought, putting the Wii in the Mokuba's closet of games.

"Whoa. You cleaned the room?" said Mokuba, stepping out the bathroom in his robe. The clothes he and Yuugi picked out earlier. Yuugi nodded tiredly by the sofa. "I'll dress up, then let's look at the ball,"

'At last! Something to do that's not tiring!' he followed Mokuba to Seto's room after he had dressed up.

"Hey, look!" said Mokuba excitedly. "Yami's grown bigger again!"

Yuugi walked over to him and took a look. "Yes, he has," he agreed. 'Growing three months a day? Of course he'd grow bigger,' he added in thought.

* * *

**Week 4; Wednesday: 7:30am**

"How old is he now?" Mokuba asked, letting Yuugi dry his hair with a towel. He was now looking at a Yami almost as big as he was.

"I think he's seven years old now," Yuugi thought Mokuba had beautiful hair, but it was so hard taking care of it.

"That's so cool! Look, I can see his-"

"Mokuba."

Yuugi and Mokuba turned around. "Niisama!"

Yuugi bowed. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Seto-sama,"

"You're getting pretty used to this, aren't you?" said Seto, approaching them.

"Yeah," said Yuugi, blushed. "I think it's going to be hard getting unused to calling you 'Seto-sama.'" He admitted. "It would be so embarrassing if they accidentally heard me calling you that at school, or outside the mansion,"

"Mokuba, don't stare at Yami's chin chin, you have your own," he told him, stopping beside Mokuba. "Seven years old," he whispered, seeing the curled up body float like the liquid like interior of the ball. "Kids grow up so fast. Literally. It's like I don't want Mokuba to grow up, seeing this little man right here get bigger by the minute,"

Mokuba hugged Seto by the waist. "I won't grow up, promise,"

"Mokuba-sama, please stay still," said Yuugi, trying to continue drying Mokuba's hair.

"Sorry," said Mokuba, standing properly.

"It's funny, how you managed to thrash me around in duel monsters, and then you end up looking after Mokuba this summer," he saw Yuugi blush once more. "If you say you won't be getting out of calling me as your employer outside the mansion, drop the 'sama.' If you can, stick to 'Kaiba,' kay?"

"Ha-hai," he stammered. "Okay, you're done, Mokuba-sama," Yuugi hanged the towel up in Seto's bathroom.

"Kay, let's go!" Mokuba ran out the door. Yuugi had no choice but to go after him. "Hurry up, Yuugi!"

But before Yuugi could move, Seto spoke. "Yuugi, stall him. I'll change and I'll go after you. I'll teach you to ride one of the horses so you can go after him. In the meantime, while I'm teaching you, he'll be followed by other servants."

"Hai."

"Go after him." Yuugi did as he was told.

Seto didn't hurry up and change into the appropriate clothes for horseback riding. He stood before the sphere, almost unable to move, and unable to take his eyes off the growing boy. "Yami," the body moved, shifting slightly, at his voice. Seto almost stepped back. "You moved." He almost wanted to laugh at himself for getting scared. He smiled. Yami heard him, and he recognized the voice. "Hey," he said, as if talking to him. "I guess you can hear me," Yami didn't move, nor did his expression change. The sphere was clear, but there were still little clouds that cover the sphere. It was like earth, blue, and clouds circling it. "I'll see you in a few weeks, love," Seto stepped into his bathroom, and he wasn't able to see Yami move one more time.

* * *

**Week 6; Thursday: 3:13pm**

Yuugi sat down on Mokuba's sofa, spent. 'I thought this would be easy.' He thought. It's not that he had lack of sleep, or rest. He got plenty of rest when Mokuba got tired, and turned to sleep in the afternoon. When Mokuba took a nap, he gotto take a nap, too. He was going to, but he just had to take a look at Yami again. But before he left Mokuba, he pulled the sheets to cover him up.

He stood before the sphere, looking at the body in a fetal position in it. It was so Yami. Only…he wasn't tan. It was really him…in his own body, like what Yami had told him, that he wanted his own body. And now he was going to have his own. It was so surreal. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, or witnessing for the past six weeks.

"Twelve years old…" he whispered, studying Yami's features. They had the same hair, only Yami's was…wilder, more erratic. He could say it was…spikier than his. "You're already twelve years old…"

* * *

**Week 7; Tuesday: 1:03pm**

"Hey, Yuugi," Mokuba was in the CD closet, looking what he and Yuugi could play. It was just after lunch, and he thought that playing something would keep him awake, because he knew he was going to fall asleep if he went back to his room, so they went to the game room, a few doors from Mokuba and Seto's room. He stepped out of the closet holding a game in hand. "Do you wanna play something like Resident Evil-" he was cut off with an exhausted Yuugi napping on the sofa in front of the TV. He giggled softly. "I guess I have been a very bad boy,"

He set the CD down on the table, and ran down to Seto's room. "Hey, Yami!" he said cheerfully. "You know, I can't wait till you come out of that ball! So let's see…Niisama said you grow 2 years a week, so…if it's the seventh this week, then you're already fourteen!" he sat down in front of it. "You know, Niisama will be really happy when you come out of this blue ball." And then he whispered, "He'll be able to pull you in bed all the time. I know. It sounds really icky!" he toned up his voice again. "And then when you're all okay we'll go to London and France and other far countries! And we'll a lot of food! I'll also share my chocolate parfait!"

Mokuba said a lot of things, and didn't notice that he left the door open, and that Seto had come home, standing by the door, listening to Mokuba talk to the sphere as if it was a person. Then he heard Yuugi screaming Mokuba's name down the hall.

"Yuugi?"

Yuugi stopped in his steps and bowed. "Okairinasai, Seto-sama!" (1)

"Mokuba's right here, what are you yelling for?" Seto asked. Yuugi breathed a sigh of relief as he walked up to him.

"I got him too tired, he fell asleep in the game room, so I left him there to sleep," Mokuba admitted, standing up. "So don't fire him."

Seto didn't answer immediately. "I won't."

* * *

**Preview of Week 9; Saturday: 7:08pm**

Seto had just come home.

"How do we know if he's coming?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because he lived in the same body as you. Maybe you can tell."

"I can't feel anything. Maybe you."

"Why me?"

"Didn't you see him move when you called out his name?"

"Yeah."

"So maybe you'll be able to tell."

Silence. "Maybe if we have someone hit it with an axe,"

"NO!"

"I was kidding."

* * *

(1) "Okairinasai," means, "Welcome home,"

* * *

please review.


	14. Chapter 14

Future Lover

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Return

* * *

**Week 9; Saturday: 7:08pm**

Yuugi had already changed out of his suit, and was ready to go home after his 12 hour shift. He was headed for Seto's room to let him know that he was already going home. But then he remembered that this was Yami's last week. He had seen Yami a few hours ago after helping Mokuba dry out from a swim in the pool. Yami looked exactly that day they dueled. Only of course, his features weren't with Yami anymore. He could tell that Yami was taller than he was, and the hair was wilder.

Yuugi knocked on the door.

"Dareka?" he heard Seto's voice from behind the door.

"Yuugi desu,"

"Douzo,"

Yuugi opened the door and saw Seto standing there in the middle of the room by the sphere, his back turned to him. He knew that Seto had just come home, because he was still in work clothes and slacks, his tie hanging loosely around his neck. "Ano, Seto-sama, boku wa-" (1)

"No." Seto cut him off. "You're staying here. Yami might come tonight. I bought some clothes you can use and they're with Mokuba. Call your grandfather before we have dinner, I don't want him getting a heart attack because you didn't come home, and it's going to be my fault,"

"H-hai," was all that Yuugi said. Even though his shift had already ended, as long as he was inside the mansion, he had to listen to Seto.

"Yuugi, come in and close the door." Yuugi obeyed and stood beside Seto. "How do we know if he's coming?" Seto asked, noticing that something had changed in the form of the sphere.

"Why are you asking me?" said Yuugi, watching Seto step back to sit on the bed.

"Because he lived in the same body as you. Maybe you can tell." He answered. Seto thought that the mind link shit they did still worked.

Yuugi took a few deep breaths, trying to feel his surroundings. "I can't feel anything. Maybe you."

Seto raised a brow. "Why me?"

"Didn't you see him move when you called out his name?"

"Yeah."

"So maybe you'll be able to tell."

Silence. "Maybe if we have someone hit it with an axe,"

"NO!"

"I was kidding." Said Seto quickly. "Why the hell would I have it hit by an axe? It's already changing shape! Don't you think that's a sign?!"

"I do, and I also think that it clouding up again is as a sign, too," said Yuugi, circling it. "I think it's going to envelope Yami, the way it is starting to shape like the outline of the human body,"

"I know that, and it's doing it fast," Seto moved to exit the room. "Come, let's eat dinner, and when we come back, I bet it's ready to crack,"

"Aren't we supposed to-"

"Supposed to what? Look at it change shape? What good will that do?" Yuugi stared at him. "Fine. We'll eat quickly."

* * *

After dinner, Mokuba went upstairs holding a cup of ice cream. On the third floor, there was always one room that caught his interest since Yami arrived in the mansion in that glowing ball. It had always been locked. When he asked the servants, they don't know where the key was. He tried hacking the lock system, but he couldn't. It was the only locked door in the house that he couldn't get to. But on that night, it was open.

Mokuba thought he'd drop the cup when he found it open. He did not expect to see what he saw. Mokuba thought that everything in the room was pure gold. Everything was all silver and gold, from the bed posters, to the bedside drawers, to the lamps and the sofas. The drapes were earthy yellow and brown, both on the windows and both on bed posters. "Whoa."

"S'what I thought the first time I saw it, too,"

Mokuba turned around, startled. "N-niisama. Why aren't you with Yami?"

"They're laying out plastic in my room. However Yami's going to come out of that ball, he might leave a mess." Seto entered the room and closed the door. "This is what Yami's room looked like. Only the floor wasn't carpeted and the walls weren't wallpapered."

"Everything was gold?!"

"Yeah. I even have a sketch of it, I'm having it framed right now." He sat on the bed. "I knew you'd like to find this room open one day, because I've been observing you. I knew you wouldn't be able to unlock it if I made a new software for it,"

"About that…I'm sorry, Niisama," Mokuba laughed nervously.

Seto chuckled. "Come on, you better look at what's going on with Yami." He stood up and put his arm over Mokuba's shoulders. "What do you think he'll want to do when he arrives, Mokuba?"

Mokuba thought for a second, taking a half a spoonful of his chocolate ice cream into his mouth. "Well…" he swallowed. "I bet he's going to want new clothes."

Seto raised both of his eyebrows in surprise. "I haven't thought of that one. Maybe we can just go shopping tomorrow, ne?"

"Where?"

"Somewhere we won't get mobbed."

"Where?" Mokuba repeated.

"Italy maybe, or France,"

The boy smiled. "Sweet. Can I get new leather shoes from Italy? I don't have any shoes from Italy yet."

Seto ruffled Mokuba's hair. "Sure." He opened his bedroom door, and saw Yuugi sitting at the foot of his bed. "That was fast."

The sphere had now looked like a blue sarcophagus in a lying position, floating in midair. "Wow, Niisama!" Mokuba put down his ice cream on Seto's drawer and ran to the blue, floating object. "Does he come out now?!"

"I don't know," Yuugi answered. Seto sat on the bed above him. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think either." Said Seto, sighing. They actually couldn't feel anything. Not a breeze pass by with the windows closed, like some kind of haunting. They weren't feeling any unnecessary nervousness. They weren't having any visions, if they were even supposed to see any. "Do you feel anything?"

"No. Ever since this morning. I haven't felt anything," Yuugi answered, hugging his folded legs. "Not a nudge or a call from the mind link since we got home from Egypt,"

"Mind link?" Seto repeated.

Mokuba looked at Yuugi. "What's a mind link?"

Mokuba sat beside Yuugi and leaned his head on Yuugi's shoulder, and he put his arm around Mokuba's shoulders. "It's how we communicate. There are times when I completely blackout, that's the time he pulls me into our minds and talk to me. There are times when he comes out of the puzzle in a transparent human form, like a hologram, but I'm the only one that can see him. The mind link is how we talk when he's inside his room, and I'm out here and vice versa,"

"You can read each other's minds?" Mokuba asked. "That's so cool! I wish I could read Niisama's mind."

"In your dreams, Mokie," Seto smiled at him.

"But don't think that we're coaching each other in duels, because he blocks the communication when he's dueling, and I block the communication when I'm dueling,"

"Wait a sec, did you say _rooms_?" said Seto.

"Yeah. I guess I should start telling. When he was still in me, my mind is separated into two. My room and his room." Yuugi started to explain. "His room is scary; it's an endless maze with deadly traps. In that maze, are doors to other rooms, and one of those rooms holds the answer to his true self. One room can look harmless, but the stone floor will collapse, and you can fall into an endless pit of darkness, and you'll never be able to get out,"

"It _does_ sound scary." Said Mokuba, scooting over nearer to Yuugi. "Does Yami become scary?"

Yuugi smiled. "Even though he looks serious all the time, he isn't scary." Seto listened. "He's amazed at the human body. Sometimes he asks all these questions that I sometimes still have to read my biology book to answer. When I eat at home, he always wants to eat for me, because he wants to know how food tastes like. Whenever Jiichan cooks something new, he begs me to change places with him and let him eat. He doesn't feel hunger inside his room, but when he comes out he feels my hunger."

"Has Yami gone on a date before?" Mokuba asked.

"Yeah, when I still liked Anzu, I asked her on a date, but I knew she liked Yami, so when I arrived at the meeting place, I forced him out." There was a small smile on Yuugi's face. "He ranted about how he hated his date with Anzu when we got home."

"_When you still liked Mazaki_?" said Seto.

"Y-yeah…" Yuugi blushed.

"Who do you like now?!" Mokuba kneeled in front of him.

"W-well…we're d-dating…"

"Who is it, who is it, who is it!!" Mokuba said excitedly. Yuugi hesitated to answer. "Wait lemme guess. It's Jounouchi isn't it?" Yuugi went even redder. "I _knew_ it! I _knew_ that guy liked you from the start!"

"Wow. A king dating a slave. That's something I didn't expect. I thought you'd date someone better like Honda, or Otogi." Seto rolled his eyes.

"Those two are dating. Otogi took Honda to America with him." Mokuba giggled, and then looked behind him.

"Jesus Christ."

"Hey, Yuugi, is water dripping from that normal?"

"What?" both Yuugi and Seto stood up and approached it. "It's a good thing you had them lay down plastic." Said Yuugi, watching liquid drip from a small crack by Yami's elbow.

Seto kneeled on one knee and touched the liquid. "This isn't exactly water. It's a bit thick. It's not runny," he wiped the liquid on the plastic. "Haven't you noticed it's been lowering itself? It's about to touch the floor any minute now." Seto now had the courage to touch it.

"Seto-sama, no!" said Yuugi, but Seto had already set his hand by Yami's hand, and it lowered itself to the floor. "Whoa. If we touched it when it was still a ball you think it would have done that?"

"No." Seto withdrew his hand, but a chunk of the blue material that surrounded Yami's body went with his hand, and it exposed Yami's hand. "Oh, fuck! This shit is gross!" Seto stood up, and blue material hit the floor.

"I think we're supposed to dig him out." Said Yuugi, about to touch Yami's hand.

"Let's get gloves first." Said Seto, taking off his shirt and used it to wipe the thick liquid off of his hand.

"Can I help dig Yami out?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes, Mokuba, you can start helping by calling one of the servants to bring up three pairs of rubber gloves, may it be medical gloves, or the gloves the gardeners use." Said Seto, walking into his closes. "Yuugi, make sure the gloves are clean, go with Mokuba," Seto stepped out in a black semi-fit shirt, and he also changed out of his slacks and shoes and into a knee length khaki coloured cargo shorts and gray flip flops.

Yuugi and Mokuba came back a few moments later, and Mokuba handed Seto his gloves. "I haven't seen you in normal clothes since I started babysitting Mokuba,"

"You only see me before I leave for work," Seto put on the gloves. They were purple medical gloves. "And when I get home from work, so you only see me in suits. Now, let's dig in." Mokuba went first after tying up his hair in a messy ponytail, and started on Yami's left arm.

"Ew." Said Mokuba, dropping the chunks on the plastic covered floor. "Ugh." Mokuba made a sick face. "I got them on my feet."

Seto was on the right part of Yami's chest, and Yuugi was on Yami's legs. "I wonder why he chose not to be tan." Said Seto, making his way to Yami's stomach.

"I don't know either. He looked nice in tan skin." Said Yuugi. "Ew,"

"I think he looks better with fair skin." Said Mokuba, "And I think that I think he looks better with fair skin is that it's what I've always seen him like. I can't imagine Yami with tan skin."

"Then let's take him to the beach." Said Yuugi, thinking up of a lot of fun things they could do.

"YEAH!" Mokuba looked up at Seto. "Can we go to the beach after we go shopping in Europe, Seto? Please?"

"Shopping in Europe?!" Yuugi repeated. "You're going to go shopping in Europe?!"

"Yeah, for Yami's clothes. You wanna come?"

"Yeah, I guess we can go to the beach after Europe." Said Seto, digging into the material above Yami's neck.

"But I don't have any money to go to-"

"Yuugi, you're Mokuba's babysitter, you're obligated to go. And besides, we're taking the _private airbus_," said Seto, "Who do you think I am taking a commercial flight? Are you crazy? I think I'd die in there even in the first class."

Mokuba giggled. "I haven't gotten on a commercial flight ever. I wonder what it's like, so I just watch the movies. Is it like that, Yuugi?"

"You have no idea. Sometimes it's worse. There are babies crying on your left, and someone throwing up on your right, it's gross, and it's noisy," said Yuugi, "But sometimes there are flights with no babies and no people who get sick on flights, so it's kind of peaceful when it's like that."

"See Mokuba?" Mokuba giggled again, and Seto stopped. He was about to take the blue stuff off of Yami's face.

"Go on, Seto-sama," Yuugi and Mokuba had finished with his body, including his privates.

Seto took the whole of what was above Yami's hair and face. "Y-yami…?" he took the thick liquid on Yami's nose and mouth off. It started with a single breath, and Yami's chest started to rise and fall. "Yami?"

"Hey, Yami-oniichan? Can you open your eyes?" Mokuba poked his face.

Yuugi went over to Seto. "Ne, mou hitori ni boku…" Yami's hand moved, and then a small movement from his eyelids, then a small moan.

Seto had Yuugi move, and lifted Yami in a bridal manner and carried him to the bathroom, into the shower. He turned it the water on, and it both him and the new body. He set Yami on the tiled floor. The stick liquid melted into the water, and Seto was soaked as he took off his gloves. As he caressed Yami's face, he saw Yuugi and Mokuba by the bathroom door, watching him. "Wake up," he whispered. "Please wake up,"

There was another moan from him, and then Yami fluttered his eyelids. There was light, and he could see blotches of brown, blue, a fair color combination of peach and pink, with black. There was a familiar voice calling his name, and he waited for his vision to clear. After a few moments, he saw a concerned, soaking wet, blue eyed young man before him. "S-seto?"

"You're finally awake," Seto smiled and hugged him. "I missed you."

For a second, Yami didn't know what he was talking about, and then it rushed to him. How Seto ended up in Egypt with him, how Yuugi had beaten him, how he had said goodbye…everything. He gave the hug back. "I missed you."

Seto pulled away, and cupped Yami's face. "What did you decide to give up?"

Yami smiled. "The first chance to finally die and be with the people I used to love and live with," he said. Seto couldn't believe that he had given up the afterlife. "I may not have died in the first lifetime, but I can die in the second, and I can be with the people I chose to be with." Yuugi and Mokuba were in the background, but Yami concentrated on Seto first And as for my religion? I don't think I should continue believing in the Egyptian ways. I grew up and am born again in a country called Japan, so I better acknowledge myself as Japanese, and learn your beliefs. And my belief is, that I love you,"

"And I love you." Seto pulled Yami closer and kissed him. "We'll never be apart, ever again, promise me that,"

"I promise,"

"Marry me,"

Mokuba and Yuugi were jumping up and down, but stopped when Seto asked the question. "What a position and situation to ask," said Mokuba. "Niisama needs to work on his timing," Yuugi nodded, agreeing.

Yami didn't care that they were under the running water, or that Seto was wet, or that he was naked, and said, "Yes." Seto pulled him again into another heated kiss, happy that the person he had once longed for for the past years finally be in his arms, alive, breathing, and giving back the love he gave.

.end.

* * *

(1) "Who is it?" he heard Seto's…

"It's Yuugi,"

"Come in,"

"Um, Sir, I'm-"

* * *

please review. thank you all for sticking with this till the end.


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